Historical Significance
by AchtungBecca
Summary: With summer break in front of them, Keely and Phil set out on a journey of self discovery after finding out a secret Keely didn't even know existed. Will they find what they are looking for? Will they ever go back to their old lives? POTF GH Crossover
1. Chapter 1 The Bitter, Beautiful Truth

Historical Significance

_Author's Note: So, I'm probably the first lunatic in the history of fanfic to ever attempt a three-way crossover between General Hospital, Law&Order:SVU (or Conviction, depending on when you read this little note), and Phil of the Future. What can I say? I like to be different. It won't really be too heavy on the SVU end, I just want to play with Cabot. Anyhow, hopefully readers won't be too lost with the mixing of three fandoms, and hopefully the story is entertaining. It can't get out of my brain._

Chapter 1: The Bitter, Beautiful Truth

"Last day of school," Keely Teslow sighed as she pulled used notebooks and books out of her locker. She looked across the hallway where Phil Diffy, her bestfriend who had the potential to be so much more, was doing the same thing. "It's kind of sad."

"Sad?" Phil asked as he glanced over his shoulder at the blonde who seemed to capture every corner of his mind at almost every hour of every day. "It's time to celebrate. Keels," he slammed his now empty locker shut and walked over to where Keely was having difficulty disposing of her unneeded school items. "We have the entire summer to just . . . hang out, relax."

"Yeah, but things can change over three months," Keely said softly, wishing desperately that things would change with Phil. They had been doing the best-friend dance for so long now she wondered if they'd ever make the jump to couple. Everyone treated them like a couple, Keely couldn't even remember the last time a boy had even attempted to ask her out. Not that she would have accepted, she just wished her fidelity towards Phil had a payoff.

"Exactly, the world can change, it's up to us to explore every inch of our world this summer to see where we want to go," Phil declared, moving dangerously close to Keely. He brushed his hand against hers as he moved to start pulling all of the stray papers and pens and pencils out of her locker. "We shouldn't dwell on the past, on what is safe and predictable. And that is exactly what school is--safe, predictable, boring."

Keely raised a curious eye, wondering where Phil's little speech was heading. "So, what do you suggest we do to shake things up."

"For one? Get out of this place before something inane drags us into another distracting adventure," Phil said. He took Keely's hand and pulled her down the hallway towards the exit. He had the door open and they were almost outside when they heard her voice.

"WAIT!"

Phil stopped moving, looking down at the ground and shaking his head.

"It's your sister, Phil," Keely said as she watched Pim charge down the hall, a harried look about her. "She looks ... stressed."

"Whatever she got herself into, she has to get herself out of," Phil said, not even convincing himself of his words.

"Phil, I need your help," Pim was out of breath. "There was an incident with... Hacket," she looked over her shoulder to make sure their Vice Principal wasn't behind her. "He sort of has my Wizard."

"What?" Phil asked loudly. He grabbed Pim by the shoulders, "How could you let that happen?"

"I was using it in last period and he confiscated it, said 'no cell phones allowed on school property'," Pim mocked.

"He thinks that's a cell phone?" Keely asked. Phil shrugged while frowning at his sister.

"Listen, I can distract Hacket, but you have to get the Wizard out of his office before he tries using it and realizes it isn't a phone," Pim explained.

"There you are Miss Diffy," Hacket said as he rounded the corner and approached the threesome. "It may be the last day of school, but you still have detention."

"It's not just my butt on the line, Phil, it's our entire family," Pim hissed before moving down the hall to greet Hacket. She turned back and mouthed at Phil, "His office."

Phil looked at Keely and sighed, "One last ridiculous future adventure before we start our summer together?"

"We do have all summer to explore," she said while taking his hand and following him down the opposite hall towards Hacket's office.

Once they got to the office, Phil slowly opened the door and let Keely go in first. "We have about twenty minutes before detention gets out. I say we find the Wizard and get gone before we can even think about getting busted."

"Yeah, good plan," Keely muttered, only half listening while she started to riffle through the filing cabinets on the far wall.

"What are you doing?"

"Exploring," Keely said with a mischievous smile. "Don't you want to see what is on your permanent record? This can influence the college we get into next year."

"Well, I'm sure it is fascinating, I'm just not that concerned," Phil shrugged. He sat down behind Hacket's desk and pulled open the top drawer. Sitting right on top was Pim's Wizard. Phil picked it up triumphantly before closing the drawer, "Found it!"

"Good for you, future boy," Keely noted, showing no signs of leaving. "But my future isn't one hundred years from now, it's next year when I go to college, I want to make sure there is nothing detrimental in here," she said while pulling out a manilla folder labeled "Teslow, Keely."

"And what if there is, what are you going to do?"

Keely smiled sweetly, "My best friend will use that Wizard to make it disappear."

"Of course I will," he said, nearly melting under her smile.

"Boring...boring..." Keely muttered as she sat on the edge of the desk and read through her file. "...records...birth parents...what?" Keely's face twisted in confusion as she looked at the papers in front of her.

"Something wrong, Keely?" Phil asked, he leaned over her shoulder and saw what was bothering his friend. "Is that your birth certificate?"

"I guess, I've never seen it before."

"Really?"

"Of course, what do I need my birth certificate for? I kind of know I was born," Keely said seriously. "My mother's name is Amanda, and my father's was Jack."

"Yeah," Phil nodded, his hand supportively on Keely's shoulder.

"So then...why aren't their names on my birth certificate?"

Keely paced around Phil's bedroom, her body shaking from a mixture of anger and disbelief. Her mother had lied to her. For seventeen years, Keely Teslow thought that Jack and Mandy Teslow were her parents. For seventeen years, Keely believed a lie. She was adopted. The birth certificate proved it. Her mother explained it all. Yet, Keely couldn't believe it.

After she and Phil left school they went right to Keely's house. There, she confronted her mother who confessed the entire truth. Her parents were unable to conceive so they adopted the newborn baby of a seventeen year old girl who had gotten pregnant over the summer. The records weren't sealed, the Teslow's just thought it best not to tell Keely until she was older. According to Keely, she was older and still in the dark. With the name's of her birth parents, Keely left her house in an angry furry.

She wasn't even sure how she ended up in Phil's bedroom. It was the only safe place she knew anymore. At least, the only real place she felt safe was anywhere Phil was. And since he had been by her side since she found the birth certificate, the actual location was irrelevant in the larger picture.

"You should probably take a few deep breaths," Phil suggested as he sat patiently at his desk. "If you calm down, we can formulate a plan."

"A plan? What kind of plan? How to erase the lies that my life has been? How to figure out who the hell I am without knowing who my parents are? What kind of plan am I supposed to formulate, Phil?" Keely raged, tears springing to her eyes.

"Sh," Phil soothed as he took her into his arms, rubbing her back gently as he felt her sob against him. "Your life isn't a lie, who you are isn't based on who your parents are. You're Keely Teslow, the most amazing, spirited, beautiful girl I've ever met--in this century or any century. You are my best friend, my everything, ok? And that has nothing to do with whether Jack and Mandy Teslow are your parents, or two people you never met. Do you hear me? I love you, Keel, no matter what."

"You love me?" Keely asked as she brushed the tears from her eyes. "What?"

"I know this isn't the most . . . ideal time to be telling you this, but . . . well, it was part of my plan for the summer," Phil admitted. "I love being your bestfriend, but somewhere along the way, or maybe all along, my feelings became bigger than friendship. I don't want to be your guy friend anymore, Keely, I want to be your boyfriend."

Keely smiled, for a second forgetting about the drama in her life that threatened to blow up her entire world. "I've felt the same way for . . . ever, really," she whispered, looking into his big brown eyes and knowing she'd always be safe as long as he was by her side. "I love you too, Phil."

"So, I guess . . . we're starting to explore our new world," Phil said with a smile. "And, I think we need to ..."

Before he could say another word, Keely brought her lips crashing against his in a long anticipated kiss. It was a moment they had both dreamed about for sometime, and didn't disappoint. Keely felt her heart quicken as his hands closed around her back, holding her tight against his body. This was right, this was how they were supposed to be. As Keely kissed the boy she loved, she wanted to say the hell with the real world, it didn't matter, if she could just spend all her time with Phil she could survive.

But life didn't work that way, and the real world was creeping back into Keely's mind. As she pulled away from Phil, she gave him a thankful and sorrowful smile.

"Now we can get on with the rest of the business at hand," he said reluctantly, wanting to be strong and supportive for the girl he loved. "What do you want to do? Name it and I'll make it happen."

"I want to meet them," she said without hesitation. The truth was, Keely loved her mother. Mandy had been a loving, caring mother, yet they never really had a close relationship. As for her father, Jack died when Keely was three, leaving her with little memory of him. The closest thing she ever had to a father figure was Lloyd Diffy. She needed to meet her biological father and mother. It was instinctual, she had to know what created her before she could move on with her life.

"Then we'll find out where your parents are and we'll go see them," Phil announced as he pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Keely. "Your mom gave you the name and phone number of the adoption agency, right? Well, we'll get the information you need and go from there.

Three hours later, Phil and Keely were back in his bedroom. They spent the rest of the afternoon at the adoption agency trying to find out where Keely's biological parents were. They weren't one hundred percent successful.

"At least we have the address of your father," Phil said, trying to brighten the mood. "That's something, right? Maybe he can tell you about your birth mother, they obviously knew each other seventeen years ago, right?"

Keely sat numbly on the edge of Phil's bed, looking down at her hands, not really knowing what to say or think. The agency had informed her that her birth father was alive and well, living in a small town in upstate New York. He was a rather successful attorney, the former District Attorney in the town. Her biological mother had been an attorney too. In fact, she was considered one of the best ADA's Manhattan had ever had. However, she was shot to death in 2003 after prosecuting a case against members of a drug cartel.

When the woman at the agency explained that to Keely, she felt all the air go out of the room. Her mother, the woman who had given her life, was no longer alive. She could never talk to her, find out if she liked orange soda as much as Keely did, if she played guitar or had a funky fashion sense, if she loved sentimental and mushy movies. She would never know if she had anything in common with her own mother. It broke Keely's heart more than she anticipated.

"Hey, I have saved about one thousand dollars, I didn't know what to use it for . . . now I do," Phil said proudly. "We're buying a car and we're driving to New York."

"What?" Keely asked, finally shaking herself out of her reverie. "We can't drive to New York and surprise some guy who may not even know I exist."

"Why not? It's part of our new summer adventure, ok? We'll see the country, and once we've driven about three thousand miles, we'll stop off in--what was it called again?"

"Port Charles."

"Right, we'll stop in Port Charles, drop by your dad's house or office or wherever and say hi. From there, it's up to you and him, but it doesn't hurt trying," Phil explained as he sat down next to Keely.

"A road trip with you would be fun," she said softly, leaning against him for support. "And I guess, I do want to meet my father."

"See, it's a great plan, it'll be a great summer, I promise," Phil declared happily. "Tomorrow morning we'll use my money to buy a car, we'll come home, say our good-byes, and then we'll be off. You in?"

"I sort of have to be. I think my dad would be really freaked if my boyfriend showed up at his doorstep without me by your side."

"Boyfriend?" Phil said with a goofy grin. "That's the first time you've called me that."

"It's what you are, isn't it?"

Phil nodded before reaching over and kissing Keely. "Yes I am, girlfriend."

Phil leaned against the car he had bought from a friend of a friend. It was beautiful, if he had to say, only costing him $1,200 for a car that was in mint condition and could even be considered a classic. He ran his fingers over the oriental blue paint job, amazed at how perfect the Chevy Malibu SS convertible looked with the sun blazing down on it.

As Keely walked up the driveway she smiled appreciatively as she looked at the classic convertible.

"How can you afford this?"

"The guy was desperate to unload it, I just had to borrow an extra two hundred from my parents, but I think it's worth it," Phil said with a grin. "Your mom is ok with this?"

"She understands," Keely said with a sigh before placing her suitcases in the trunk.

"How much are you taking?" Phil wondered as she piled her bags into the spacious trunk. "We're not moving to Port Charles."

"I just need to be prepared. This look," she motioned to her clothes and struck Phil a pose, "doesn't happen by throwing three pairs of jeans and a couple of shirts into a duffle bag."

"Fine, fine...anything for you," he said with a wink. "I already said my good-byes with the parentals."

"They're letting you go, no problems?"

"Just the usual 'be careful, call us, don't end up in jail' stuff...but, they realize that this is important to you, and you're important to me so . . ."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Keely jumped into the passenger seat. "My mom was even cool enough to give me some cash and, get this, her credit card for an emergency." Keely looked out her window, feeling guilty. "She's a good mom, you know? I hope she know this isn't about her . . . it's for me."

"I'm sure she knows," Phil said with a smile. "She loves you, Keel, she understands why you have to do this."

Keely looked at Phil, amazed that she was lucky enough to have someone as wonderful as him in her life. He was so supportive, so caring, she couldn't imagine what her life would be like without him in it. She knew one thing, she was glad Lloyd Diffy never fixed the time machine, because she couldn't let go of Phil now.

"We need some tunes," Keely said as she flicked on the radio. "No second thoughts?"

"None," Phil stated seriously. "We're doing this Keely, you may be scared now, but in the end, you'd regret not going."

"I'm really nervous, though," she admitted. "Would you mind if I took a little nap? I didn't sleep at all last night and I feel exhausted."

"I don't mind," Phil said. He reached over and gently touched her face. "I'll wake you up once we're in Nevada."

Four hours and the entire state of California and half of Nevada behind them, Keely felt the car come to screeching halt. As she roused herself awake, she could see Phil jump out of the car and slam the door shut in frustration. At first, she thought something was wrong with the car. Then she felt movement in the back seat of the car. She turned around to see the most shocking sight she could imagine: Pim.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" Phil yelled at his sister.

"Were you covered in that blanket the entire time?" Keely asked as she looked in the back seat. "That must have been hot."

"Damn straight, I think I lost about ten pounds in the last four hours," Pim mused as she climbed out of the car and looked around. In front of them was desert, behind them more desert. There really wasn't much to see.

"You stowed away, Pim, why?"

"Do you really think I was going to let you two go off on some adventure this summer while I stayed home and entertained Barb and Lloyd? Are you freaking insane?"

"You have no right, none," Phil yelled. "This trip has nothing to do with you."

"Blah, blah, blah . . . what are you going to do? Turn around? Wasted time, big brother. Let me stay, I'll earn my way. After all, there isn't anybody my age better at a con than me. I can get us room and food at the next town and we won't have to pay for it. Trust me."

"Her evil genius may come in handy," Keely said, always have had a soft spot for Phil's mischievous little sister.

Phil clenched his jaw and looked at Keely. "It's up to you, this is your trip, if you want her to stay, she will. Otherwise, once we get to the next town, I'm putting her on the first bus back to Pickford."

"Let her stay," Keely shrugged. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"Never ask that question where Pim is concerned," Phil muttered as he climbed back into the passenger seat. "Get in, Pim, you're coming, but you better not try anything or you are off this ride!"

"Yay, you won't regret it," Pim announced as she jumped back into the car. "So, tell me about this father of yours? What's his name?"

Keely swiveled around to look at Pim in the back seat. "My dad's name? It's Ric Lansing."

* * *

Replies are nice, nice replies are even nicer. Feed the muse and the muse will inspire. 

This is my first story here at (though, I've been writing fanfic for a long time now, mostly within the GH fandom different places on the net), and my first POTF fanfic. However, this is a crossover and I'm not sure if I should have posted it in the GH forum (I know of alot more GH places I can post or reference it for GH than POTF, though). Hopefully you all like it here in the POTF forum. If you have any questions about the other fandoms once we get involved there, don't hesistate to ask.

Thanks for reading!

--Becca


	2. Chapter 2 Resilience

Author's Note: First off, thanks for reading the first Chapter, which was all Pheely. Chapter 2 starts with the integration of the General Hospital end of the story. If there are any questions about the GH side (I kind of allude to a rumor for what may or may not happen during Feb. Sweeps, I just heard it and thought it would make a good plot point in my story), feel free to ask. Also, I'm 100 percent a LiRic fan, so if you are a Rexis fan...well, you're forewarned, I really am not fond of Alexis, at all.

* * *

Historical Significance 

Chapter 2: Resilience

Ric Lansing could hear movement inside the house, the moment of truth was about to come crashing in on him. So much had happened during the last few months, he barely had the ability to process it. For a man who never had a real family, he was finding that it was anything but in short supply anymore.

He was married with an infant daughter and a step-daughter/niece who was getting bigger everyday. And then, during some of the darkest moments of his existence, as he clung to his own life, Ric found out the most shocking news he could imagine: he had a son.

Cameron Webber was his biological son and at the same time Ric was near death, the little boy was gravely ill. Ric feared he would die before ever getting to really know his son, or worse, that he'd outlive a beautiful two year old boy who had his entire life ahead of him. Ric couldn't live with either scenario, and, luckily, he didn't have to. He and Cameron pulled through the mysterious illness that swept through town, both stronger and healthier than before.

What remained, was an extremely fractured marriage due in large part to the fact that Alexis had found out about Cameron and refused to tell Ric. Also, Ric found his once solid friendship with his ex-wife, Elizabeth, strained due to the truth coming out. She refused to say anything more than five words to him. Ric knew that she thought he hated her for keeping Cameron away. While he was angry at first, and couldn't understand why Elizabeth felt the need to conceal Cameron's paternity, none of it mattered after he almost died. All he wanted was to know his son, to give his daughter a big brother, and to give both of his children the opportunity to have a real, everyday father.

And that was why he stood in front of Audrey Hardy's house, nervously pacing as he waited for someone to answer the door. Elizabeth had agreed to give Ric visitation until Cameron was comfortable with him, and then they would share custody. Elizabeth's attitude only served to confuse Ric further. She hadn't kept the truth about Cameron from Ric to keep him away from her son, it seemed, but why? It was something he just couldn't figure out.

"Ric, right on time," Elizabeth said as she threw the door open and motioned for him to come in. It was Saturday afternoon, her hair was pulled up in a messy ponytail, she was wearing blue jeans and a faded University of Colorado tee shirt. He smiled, she looked adorable, she looked amazing. She could still take his breath away.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," Ric noted while stepping into the immaculate house. He didn't know the details of what happened, but it was clear that Elizabeth's young marriage to Lucky had hit a rough patch. He didn't want to intrude on her life, but Ric had heard rumors that the couple was heading for divorce. Ric thought Lucky was a lot smarter than to let Elizabeth slip away from him. He always told himself that if he were given a third chance with her, he'd never let her go. That scenario, though, was simply not going to happen. Their time had passed, and they had both moved on.

At least, that was what he had to convince himself of in order to be a good husband. As Ric sat down on the couch, Cameron toddled over to him, abandoning the toy car he had been playing with.

"There's my big guy," Ric said happily as he picked the little boy up and flew him around the room. He stopped when he noticed Elizabeth staring at them. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "No, not at all. It's just ... when I was pregnant with Cameron, and things were good between us, I used to imagine this exact situation. Sorry." She shook her head, "I guess I'm just feeling..."

"Nostalgic?" Ric asked as he walked across the room, Cameron in his arms, and looked into Elizabeth's blue eyes. "Listen, I know you think I'm angry with you, I'm over it. Really. I know we can't be together, but we can be friends, we can give Cameron a really good life. We can give him the family neither of us had growing up."

"I'd like that," Elizabeth said softly, her eyes welling up. "I thought I was giving him that, you know? I was married to a good man, we were making a life...I swear, I don't think I'm very good at this marriage thing."

"Are you kidding?" Ric asked as he used his free hand to brush away a tear. "You were a great wife, I didn't deserve you. And, obviously, Lucky doesn't deserve you. Besides, it's 2006, you don't need to be married to provide a strong home for our son. We'll make this work, I promise."

"He's everything to me, Ric, I couldn't bear his heart being broken," she admitted, her words soft but her intent a warning.

Ric nodded, understanding what she meant loud and clear. She was afraid he'd hurt their son like he hurt her. He was going to prove to her that the last thing he'd ever do is hurt one of his children. He may have not have been a good man or a stellar husband, but it was goal in life to be a great father.

"Where are we?" Keely asked as she looked out the window. Desert had turned into flat, boring plains, and they were starting to come upon trees and other green and leafy things. She was relieved to finally see a change in scenery.

"Uh...I'm not sure, exactly...Missouri, maybe," Phil shrugged. "If we really book, we can be there by Monday, probably."

"Really?"

Phil nodded, "Oh yeah, we've been driving for what..."

"Three days," Pim yelled from the back seat.

"Right, and we're almost to Illinois. I say, we stay overnight in Chicago, rest up for the rest of the trip," he said with a chuckle.

"Or we can just stay in Chicago," Keely suggested, her nerves getting the better of her.

"Keel--second thoughts?" Phil asked as he looked over at her. She looked tired, her eyes seemed to be clouded with worry. It made him ache not to see her laughing and happy. He vowed to make the sparkle return to those green eyes.

"Oh...no...yes," she confessed. "What if he is an awful man? What if he's fat and hairy and smells like cheap cologne? Oh gosh, what if he is some sort of woman hating creep? What if he likes...rap music? Or doesn't like the kind of music I like?"

"Or what if he doesn't take one and love you?" Phil asked with a raised eye. "Isn't that what you're really afraid of? That Ric won't love you?"

"I'm seventeen, you know? I'm not some cute, bouncy little infant. I've already got my own ways, and my own likes and dislikes. I'll just be some...teenager barging into his life. He'll be perfectly within his rights to hate me, I'd wager."

Phil pulled the car over to the side of the road and put it in park.

"Look at me, Keel, look," he insisted. Once he was satisfied, he leaned over and kissed her. "Ok, now listen to me. Since the moment I first saw you that Christmas Eve I knew . . . you were special. I knew that you would change my life in a major way. I knew I loved you. And if this Ric Lansing guy is really meant to be your father, and not just in the biological he donated some bodily fluids kind of way, but the real, deep down way . . . well, if he is, he'll look at you and see how amazing you are. He'll see your heart and your spirit, and your soul will sing to him. He'll take you into his arms, into his home, and into his family," Phil declared passionately. "He won't be able to resist. He'll love you, Keely, the only real problem is: are you ready to let him?"

Keely looked at Phil, almost dumbfounded by his speech. How he always knew the absolutely right thing to say was a mystery to her. It must have something to do with being from the future, because Phil felt like a completely evolved creature. A boy who wasn't careless or reckless with a teenage girl's heart.

"Blah, blah, blah," Pim perked up from the back seat. "Well never get to Chicago by nightfall if you two spend half of the day chatting and making out. Now put the pedal to the metal and drive!"

Phil smirked, "She's just so sweet, so sunny and bright, glad we brought her along."

Elizabeth stood in front of the shelf, mulling over her purchase. She could get the Kellogg's Corn Flakes or the store brand, the decision was difficult. The name brand tasted a heck of a lot better, yet the store brand was half the price. She may have moved back in with her grandmother, but money was once again the cause of way too much stress. Elizabeth was determined not to live off of her grandmother, to prove herself in the world.

She was starting to wonder what she was trying to prove. That she could work sixty hours a week, sacrifice her personal life and her artistic talent, only to end up dead tired and lonely? Somehow, Lucky had convinced her that going to her family and friends for help was beneath them. According to Lucky, it was far more noble to be poor and virtuous, than to have to beg for help. Pride, as it turned out, was the downfall of their marriage.

"Just ask him, you know he'll help."

"Talking to yourself?"

Elizabeth looked away from her cereal to find Lorenzo Alcazar smirking at her.

"You're in a supermarket?"

"Everyone has to eat, right?" Lorenzo asked with a grin. Elizabeth didn't know Lorenzo well, but she knew she had never seen him grin. It was sort of unnerving.

"Who are you asking for help?" he asked, obviously curious.

Elizabeth shook her head, "Nobody, it's not important."

"Ok," he shrugged, grabbing a box of Raison Bran before heading in the opposite direction.

"If Carly came to you, even though you guys are now divorced and have moved on--would you be ok with that?"

Lorenzo stopped, his back to the young woman. He slowly turned to face her, thinking over the question.

"For what reason would she be coming to me? To help her in some way make Sonny or Jax or whoever she is now obsessed with jealous? No, I couldn't help her," Lorenzo admitted truthfully.

"What if she needed money--what if she needed something for Morgan and Michael?"

"That's what their father is for," Lorenzo pointed out. He stared at Elizabeth, trying to will her to say what she really meant.

"What if she needed it for herself. You know, she doesn't ever do anything for herself, and needs this one thing and..."

"Oh, come on, Elizabeth, Carly not doing something for herself? We both know that never happens. Carly is motivated by her own wants and desires," Lorenzo said with a heartfelt laugh. "Let's cut to the chase, we're talking about you, not Carly--what do you need? Maybe I can help."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I want to finish getting my art degree, but I can't do that working sixty hours a week as a nurse. But I can't pay for the tuition if I don't work sixty hours. I'm kind of stuck in a lose lose situation."

Lorenzo nodded, thinking, "Aren't there grants, aids, loans you could take out?"

"Not really, and even so, I don't--I can't...it was a stupid thought, forget I said anything," Elizabeth shook it off, an apologetic look in her blue eyes.

"You're unhappy and you want a way out, is that it?" Lorenzo asked.

"When I was a starving artist, I was happy. I didn't care that I worked at a diner to make ends meat, or that I lived in a dingy little studio. I was happy, I was fulfilled. But I didn't have Cameron then, I have to think of him, I can't go back to that bohemian lifestyle."

"And who do you want to ask for help?"

Elizabeth looked up at Lorenzo, half ashamed that she was confessing all of this to a man who was virtually a stranger.

"Ric," she said softly. "He's Cameron's father and . . . I know he'd do it in a heartbeat, but I don't have the right. He has his own family, his own life, I can't expect him to drop everything to help me."

"Somehow I doubt you are asking him to drop everything, Elizabeth, and somehow I doubt he'd view helping you as a burden." Lorenzo paused, a nostalgic smile springing to his bearded face. "The truth is, if Carly really needed me, I'd be there for her. We may not be together anymore, and we may not really be able to ever go back there, but I would do anything to make her life better. Ric and I aren't that different, we're cut from the same cloth, if you will, so I'd say he'd be more than willing to do whatever you needed."

Elizabeth nodded thoughtfully, "So if Carly just came to you, out of the blue, and said jump you'd just . . ."

"Say how high," Lorenzo smiled and began to walk away. "Good luck, Elizabeth," he said a wink before striding away down the aisle.

Elizabeth sighed, grabbed the box of Kellogg's and pushed her cart in the opposite direction. She knew what she wanted to do, she just wasn't sure if she had any right.

"That is one killer castle, Cam," Ric said as he sat in the sandbox and watched as his little boy piled sand into a plastic bucket. "I think you're going to be an architect...either that or tailback for the Giants. The verdict is still out."

"You don't see law in his future?"

Ric looked up, surprised to see Carly, who was holding Morgan in her arms, staring down at him.

"I'm glad to see he's doing well, you too--I guess," she muttered.

"Lansing men are made from strong stock," Ric said with a wink.

"Is that why we couldn't squash you like the bug you were all those years ago?" she asked while placing Morgan in the sand next to Cameron.

Ric shrugged, "As for your question, I doubt my boy is going to end up following his old man into law. I sure as hell hope his mother's artistic genes are dominant. There are too many lawyers in this town, anyhow."

"Like your wife?" Carly asked with a bitter grin. "Where is Port Charles' most pleasant litigator these days?"

"Working," Ric said with a lack of emotion.

"On a Saturday? Wow, back up this passion train, it's too much for me to witness," Carly told Ric. "Where are the girls?"

"Molly is spending the day with her cousin Nikolas, and Sonny has Kristina for a few days," Ric explained. "Leaving me free to hang out with my son."

"It's funny," Carly began. "Elizabeth and I have always been rivals, but we have more in common than any two people in this town."

"How so?" Ric asked skeptically.

"Well, the obvious one, we both married a set of brother--more than once. There is our connection to the Spencer family. Our failed dream careers. Our beautiful sons. Of course, we both fell in love with the men who kidnapped me," Carly added pointedly. "But the one thing I never thought we'd have in common, the one low I never thought she'd stoop to? Keeping her first born son's paternity a secret. I have to hand it to her, she sure kept that one under lock and key for a long time."

"You know what, Carly? I've forgiven her, there were a lot of . . . well, I don't know why she didn't tell me, but I don't care right now. All I'm worried about is spending time with my son, that's it," Ric explained. "So there is nothing else to say on the subject."

"But I was just..." Carly stopped when she noticed Elizabeth approaching. She stood up and scooped Morgan, who was none to pleased to be taken out of the sandbox, waving to Elizabeth in process. "Hello, Elizabeth! I was just leaving!"

Ric shook his head and watched as Carly pranced away. She was clearly pleased with herself, but he had no idea why. Trying to figure out Carly would take an advanced degree in psychology and Ric just didn't have the time to go back to school for that.

"Hey, he loves this," Ric said, pointing to the obviously content little boy in the sandbox. "I thought you had errands to run?"

"I ran them...I've gotten pretty fast, do my thing, waste no time...gives me more time to work," Elizabeth rattled, sitting down next to Ric. "How was your day?"

"It's been fun, I love spending time with Cameron. You've done an amazing job, he's a great kid."

"He's getting more and more comfortable with you," Elizabeth pointed out. "Soon, I think he may be ready to spend the night at your place, maybe even extended visits."

"I'd love that," Ric said happily.

"Ric, there's something I need to ask you," she blurted out.

"Sure, what?" Ric asked, only half listening as his attention was focused on Cameron.

"Well, I'm not really sure...but...I want to go back to school, I only need a few more credits left for my art degree and . . ."

"That's great, Elizabeth, I was always sad that you gave it up, you had so much talent," Ric gushed.

"I have no right to ask, but...can I get a loan?"

"A loan?"

"Yeah, I did the research and I really don't have enough credits left to warrant a student loan, but I can't afford to go back on my own. I'd have to cut back my hours at the hospital in order to take the classes and--it's a real chicken and the egg sort of thing," Elizabeth finished, taking a deep breath after her ramble.

"Sure, I can give you a loan, but I'd rather just give you the money outright," Ric admitted. "In fact, I've been thinking about your situation a lot lately, and I want to help."

"If you even think about asking me to move in with you and Alexis I will hit you very hard in the face," Elizabeth threatened with a laugh.

"Uh, no, that . . no," Ric said joining in her laughter. "Trust me, I wouldn't subject anyone I like to Alexis first thing in the morning."

"Not a morning person?"

Ric shook his head and chuckled. "I am serious about doing something for your situation."

"And what is that?"

"We've been married twice, and divorced twice."

"Thanks for the refresher, I almost forgot," Elizabeth quipped.

"And, not once have you asked for alimony or child support--you haven't asked for anything," Ric continued with a grin. "So, I ran the figures, and I think that if I had been paying alimony and child support you'd have enough money to buy a house, mortgage free."

"What?" Elizabeth asked, not entirely sure where he was going. "What are you getting at?"

"I want to buy you a house and provide you with the necessary funds to, well, make life easy for Cameron. And I will also help you with your college tuition," Ric offered.

"That's ridiculous," Elizabeth scoffed. "What would your wife say about buying me a house?"

"Alexis isn't buying you a house, I am. It's my money. I'm wealthy, Elizabeth, I don't need the money. Alexis doesn't have access to my trust fund, and that is where the money would come from, so she doesn't have to know."

"You're going to keep this secret from your wife?"

"If she asks, I'd tell her, but it is none of her business."

"Ric..."

"What? I'm doing it for my son, it just so happens you're part of the package," Ric explained. "I won't take no for answer, just agree to let me do this for you. Please."

Elizabeth sighed. Things had been so difficult, she had to work so much to get so little in exchange. She deserved this, she deserved her own space, her own house, the chance to give her son everything he deserved. There were no strings attached, there was no reunion with Ric looming on the horizon. He couldn't break her heart again. Why couldn't she accept his offer? It was for Cameron, after all.

"Fine, I guess it is something beneficial . . . it'd be nice to have a place I can call my own," Elizabeth said, her mind drifting off as she thought about decorating a house, painting the walls, buying furniture and art. She really loved the idea. "If it is something you really want to do."

"It is . . . when is your next day off?" he asked excitedly.

"I have to work tomorrow, but I'm off Monday."

"Great," Ric clapped his hands together. "I'll call my realtor, tell her I'm interested in buying, and we'll go see some houses together. Make sure you bring Cameron, after all, he has to like the place."

"Sounds like fun," Elizabeth said. She took a deep breath and felt relieved, almost at peace. Maybe things were finally turning around for her.

Keely stared at the ceiling, wide awake. She wished she could blame her insomnia on the fact that her roommate, Pim, was snoring loud enough to wake up half of Chicago. However, that wasn't the case. All she could think about was her father. The man whose DNA made up half of who she was. Was he kind, funny? Was he tall, did he ever play sports? There were a million questions she wanted to ask him, but was afraid her stage fright would return in a new and interesting way the second she met him.

Keely glanced over at the other bed, sighing as he looked at the peacefully sleeping Pim. She shook her head and climbed out bed and walked to the door that adjoined to the other room. She slowly opened it, leaning against the door frame as she waited for Phil to realize she was there.

"Hey," he said groggily, rolling onto his side and smiling. "Can't sleep?"

Keely shook her head. "No."

"Pim snores like a buzz saw," Phil pointed out. "Sorry, should have warned you."

"Thanks," she groaned. "Mind if I crash in here?"

"Uh...sure," he motioned, a lump suddenly in his throat. His room only had one bed. The truth was, it killed him to think of Keely in the other room, so close but so far away. Sure, sharing a bed with Keely was potentially fraught with danger, but it was also a dream, a fantasy . . . ok, he wouldn't be sharing any fantasy moments. This wasn't the time or place. Their feelings may have been out in the open, but what Keely needed right now wasn't a boyfriend, she needed her bestfriend. So Phil had to push the attraction part of his feelings onto the back burner, and bring the supportive, caring, solid good-guy friend side of him to the forefront.

He patted the left side of the bed, "Come on, there is plenty of room."

"Excellent," Keely said happily and climbed in next to him. "We should get some sleep, we have a long drive ahead of us."

"Yep, and then we have an even bigger journey after that," Phil added with a sheepish grin.

Keely leaned closer and gave him a quick kiss before rolling over to turn the light out. Phil turned the lamp on his side and when he rolled back over, he always slept on his left side, found Keely staring at him.

"I sleep on my right side."

"I sleep on my left," Phil added.

"Switch sides?"

Phil shook his head, "I think I can like falling asleep looking at you."

"Ditto," Keely retorted as she scooted closer to Phil. "Thank you for everything. You've been so amazing...I'm really glad your time machine broke down and stranded you in this century. I don't know how I would do any of this without."

"Maybe it was fate that brought us together, because I can't imagine ever meeting somebody else who fits in my life the way you do. You're my best friend and more and--that's pretty awesome."

"Awesome," Keely said through a yawn. "Good night, Phil."

" 'Night Keel," he said with a smile. He waited until she was asleep to finally close his own eyes, saying a small prayer that everything would work out the way Keely needed it to. Even though he told Keely everything would be ok once they got to Port Charles, the truth was he didn't know what waited for them there. It was completely unwritten, unknown, and that scared him a bit.

* * *

Once again, replies and reviews inspire, so feel free. Additionally, the POTF clan will be hitting PC soon so full integration is only a chapter away (though we're still a few chapters away from working in my favorite SVU character). 

Thanks again for reading!

Becca


	3. Chapter 3 Something Like Normal

First off, I want to thank everyone for submitting reviews. I really appreciate the feedback. It means the world to me. I hope for everyone who doesn't really follow GH I'm not losing you. Again, if you have any questions, please ask, I'll be happy to explain. And while this is mainly a Keely/Keely&Phil story, on the POTF side...Pim has been screaming to get her time in the sun. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading!

Becca

* * *

Historical Significance

Chapter 3: Something Like Normal

"There, right there," Pim yelled. She was pointing so furiously that she nearly fell out of the car. "There is a parking lot right there...park, now!"

"Calm down," Phil urged as he maneuvered the car into the tiny parking space.

"It says for 'Patrons Only.'"

"Then we'll be a patron," Phil said to Keely with a grin. They had spent the entire day Sunday driving. Driving and nothing else. They barely stopped to eat or rest. So much for seeing the country. The United States had flown by in a blur as the trio hurried to get to the small, idyllically picture perfect town of Port Charles. As they drove in, Phil was struck by how surreal it looked. He had lived in the suburbs back in Pickford, but this was ridiculous, central casting couldn't have picked a better town. It looked like setting of a television show. Too clean where it was supposed to be clean, too dingy where it was supposed to be dingy. In short, it was almost perfect. It was unnerving.

Phil put the top up on the convertible and helped the girls out of the car. Pim rushed to the entrance of the diner, leaving Phil and Keely a few paces behind.

"Nice town, huh?"

"It's overwhelming in its niceness, too nice almost," Keely echoed. "Like it is hiding really dark secrets beneath the white picket fences."

"Maybe it's an east coast thing," Phil suggested. "Or it's just unique? I don't know, I'm sure we're just looking for something to be wrong where it doesn't exist."

"You're probably right," Keely said with a sigh. "I don't want to seem like I'm stalling, but I am starved, I need to eat before I do something as big as meeting my dad."

"Then we'll eat," Phil held out his left arm, which Keely took. They walked into the diner to find Pim already seated and chatting with a tall, blond man who was wearing an obviously expensive suit. "Let's get our own table."

"Let's," Keely agreed. As they sat down, they looked over at Pim, no clue what she was up to.

"So, Down Under, what was your name again?" Pim asked the older man.

"Jax."

"Yeah, Jax, what kind of name is that anyway?"

"It's a nickname, my given name is Jasper Jacks."

"Jasper Jax Jacks? Yeah...you stupid ponce," she muttered, shaking her head.

"What was your name?"

"Pim."

"Short for...?"

"Nothing, just Pim...don't even think of making a joke, or I will bring you to your knees."

"How old are you?" Jax asked in amazement.

"Fourteen, how old are you?"

"Old enough to be your father--why did you call me over to your table?" Jax asked, completely entranced by the bold and slightly off kilter teen ager.

"I need to know who the man with the plan in this town is," Pim began. "The guy who everyone fears. The one with the power. The Big Cheese. The Top Dog. The Head Honcho. Are you following, Down Under? I need a name, out with it."

"Why?" Jax asked as he tried to keep from laughing. This kid had spunk.

"Because I intend to make this town mine, and to do that I have to befriend and then bring down whoever is standing in my way. Now--are you going to tell me or do I have to go elsewhere for this information?"

"No, no, I--uh--I will tell you," Jax said with a wide grin. This was perfect. There was no way this girl could actually accomplish what she claimed, but she could sure make someone uncomfortable and annoyed. Jax was almost giddy with anticipation: he'd set this nutty kid in the direction of the one person who would be most annoyed by her presence. "You want to see Sonny Corinthos. If you do go to see him, while there, tell him Jax said hi--there's fifty bucks in it for you."

"Fifty large, not bad--what can I do to get one hundred?"

"We'll discuss that later," Jax stood up. "You going to be in town long, Pim?"

"As long as it takes for Blondie to bond with her Daddy. Why, big guy?"

"Oh, I was just wondering how long it'd take you to really get under Corinthos's skin."

Pim sat back and grinned, "It'll be quicker than you'd think."

"Excellent," he said with a wink before leaving the diner.

"Pim, what was that about?" Phil asked when she joined their table.

"Just business, don't stress it," Pim insisted. "So, have we ordered?"

"Not yet, we were discussing accommodations," Keely pointed out. "I don't know how long this will take and it doesn't appear that Port Charles has many hotels. We need somewhere cheap and convenient to stay."

"Then you're in the right place," Pim announced. "Down Under was telling me that they rent rooms in this place. Cheap too, we just have to talk to someone called Lucky."

Keely shrugged, "I'll go ask the guy at the counter."

Standing behind the counter was a guy who looked like he had just walked out of a Wrangler ad. He was tall with broad shoulders and a tan that came from spending time outside. He smiled at Keely as she approached and she got the sense that he was an old fashioned, man's man.

"Hi, I'm Keely Teslow," she began, extending a hand to the man. He gently took it, waiting for her to continue. "And my friend said that the owner of this place rents rooms. I need to speak with someone named Lucky. Do you know where I can find Lucky?"

"That'd be me," he said, flashing that casual grin.

"Oh, ok, well, we need somewhere to stay. I'm in town looking for my...looking into college," she lied, nervously glancing back at Phil before returning her attention to Lucky. "And the hotel in this city is ridiculously expensive, and Phil didn't like the looks of that dingy motel on the edge of town. This place seems nice, homey . . . could we rent a couple of rooms?"

"How many?" Lucky asked as he looked passed Keely at Phil and Pim. "Three?"

"I don't...I guess," Keely shrugged. "How much would it cost?"

"That's negotiable," Lucky said. "I have to meet the other tenants first."

"Sure," Keely and Lucky walked over to the table. Lucky grabbed a chair and turned it backwards, smiling at Pim and Phil once he was settled.

"So, are you really here checking out PCU?" Lucky asked skeptically. "Or are you running from something?"

"What?" Phil asked. He wasn't sure what he was more confused by. The idea that they were looking at a college, or that they were on the run. "How about neither."

"Not according to Keely," Lucky pointed out. "Listen, I don't own this place, I just run it for my dad and my aunt, I manage it. But I'm also a cop. If you kids are in trouble, I can probably help."

"We're not in trouble," Phil told Lucky but looked at Keely. "We're actually visiting someone in town. Right, Keel?"

Keely nodded, "I'm here to see my dad, it's sort of a surprise."

"Why don't you just stay with him?"

"Well, see, he isn't expecting me, and I couldn't force him to put up with three teenagers for the summer. So, we need somewhere safe where we can crash, basically. We're not in trouble, I swear."

Lucky nodded, "Fine. Listen, I've been...on my own since I was about sixteen, so I get it. I have three rooms upstairs, they aren't anything spectacular, but it's a room. Normally, we charge about fifty bucks a week but . . ." Lucky leaned forward, studying the kids carefully. "We are a little shorthanded this summer, our best waitress just gave her two weeks notice. I could use a couple sets of extra hands--especially in the morning. Do any of you have any experience?"

"No--."

"Totally!" Keely said, cutting off Phil's denial.

"We do?" Phil asked skeptically.

"Yeah, remember, the catering company?" Keely asked, referring to her one and only non-babysitting job. For one day, she worked as a waitress for a caterer during a banquet. It wasn't exactly the same thing as working in a diner.

"Great, then, you pitch in about ten hours a week, and we'll call it even," Lucky said with a smile. "Let me go get the keys for the rooms and we'll go over the rules."

Once Lucky was out of earshot, Phil leaned closer to Keely. "I don't know how to be a waiter or anything, what did you get us into?"

"Oh, how hard can it be? So we bring people their eggs and coffee and we get free rent, it's a pretty good deal," Keely pointed out with a smile.

"Fine," Phil muttered, willing to do anything if it made Keely smile. "I guess I'm in."

"Not me, I'll find fifty dollars a week, but I'm not working in some greasy spoon," Pim announced as she rose. "Tell Officer Hottie I'll pick my key up later, I have some errands to run."

"We just got here, how can you have errands?" Phil questioned his sister, but it was too late, she was already halfway out the door. "She is going to get us into trouble, I know it."

"Oh, I think you're exaggerating," Keely teased. "What could Pim possibly be up to?"

* * *

Pim rushed out of the diner and to the car. She popped the trunk open and pulled out her suitcase. Inside she found her Wizard and New Ager, she smiled as she threw them into her messenger bag and flung it over her shoulder. She grabbed the Wizard and dialed it in.

"Search: Corinthos, Sonny--address," she instructed, waiting for the information, which appeared a ten seconds later. "Bingo! Well, Sonny-boy, you're about to meet your match."

* * *

"We only have a couple of rules," Lucky explained as he showed Phil and Keely the rooms that were located above the diner. "One, and this is like the number one, don't break it rule--no cohabiting. No sleep-overs."

"You're kidding, right?" Keely asked, shooting Phil a look.

"It's not really my rule. It was my Aunt Ruby's rule. Before she died, she actually threw people out for breaking that rule," Lucky explained. "If the rule is broken, I'll be lenient--just don't make it a regular occurrence."

"And the other rules?" Phil questioned as they walked down the hallway.

"To conserve hot water, showers shouldn't extend beyond fifteen minutes," Lucky said, chuckling at a memory. "There was this guy who lived here when he first got to town, well...he used to break the rule at least once a week. It was usually when Elizabeth was visiting, though," he added bitterly.

"I sense some history, there," Phil noted.

"There is history all over this town, everyone is far too involved with each other," Lucky said with a shake of the head.

"So, what happened to the guy who broke the shower rule?"

"He wasn't here too long," Lucky explained as they came the second room on the right side of the hallway. "Lansing got his own place a few months after moving in, to this room as a matter of fact."

"Lansing?" Keely gasped.

"Yeah, Ric Lansing--big shot attorney--lived in this very room when he first got to town. I never understood why someone with money would actually live here," Lucky shrugged as he turned the key and opened the room. He held up the key, "Right across the hall is one more room and around the corner I'll save for...what was her name?"

"Pim," Phil said as he watched Keely eye the key to the room where her father had lived. "Thanks, Lucky, we really appreciate what you've done."

"It's cool, man, I know what it's like to need to find out who you are separate from what you know," Lucky said with a wink, handing Phil the keys to the room. "I hope things go well with your friend's father."

Phil nodded and watched as Lucky walked down the hallway.

"I'm guessing you want this room," Phil said softly as he handed Keely the key. "Right?"

"My dad lived in here," Keely said as she walked into the tiny room. She ran her fingers over the dresser, her eyes wide with awe. "Why? If, like Lucky said, he can afford to live somewhere better..."

"Maybe he wasn't planning on staying long," Phil suggested as he drug Keely's suitcase into the room.

"I want to see him right now," Keely said. For some reason, learning just a small detail about her father, and being in a room where he had once lived, gave her a charge of courage.

"Sure, sure," Phil said. He took Keely by the arms, looking into her eyes, "Should I go ask Lucky where I would be able to find him? I'm sure he knows."

"Ok, sounds good," Keely said, her voice almost hollow sounding. She was lost in her own thoughts and couldn't really concentrate on anything concrete.

As Phil disappeared from the room, Keely grabbed her purse and pulled out a photograph. Before leaving, Keely had Phil use the Wizard to find an up to date photo of Ric. It was the only thing she allowed him to use his future technology for. She wanted to get to know Ric for Ric, she didn't want to research him or dig to deep. She needed the chance to get to know her father the same way he would get to know her.

But she loved the picture. He was handsome, dark eyes and dark hair, with a broad, kind smile. It was strange, she didn't know anything about him, but she felt connected to him, she felt attached to a man who was a stranger. Keely ran a finger over his face, hoping that he would love her as much as she already loved him.

* * *

"So, how'd you like that one?" Ric asked as he pushed a stroller down the walkway that led from a perfectly acceptable house. He and Elizabeth had seen about six houses, none really up to snuff. Ric didn't like any of them, Elizabeth wasn't exactly thrilled, and Cameron was clearly bored.

"I liked it," Elizabeth softly. "But . . . I don't know, it didn't feel like a home." She paused and looked down at Cameron, who was reaching out of his stroller across to Molly's. She smiled as she watched her son try to play with his little sister. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Ric said, smiling as he watched the same scene that Elizabeth had. His heart almost ached at how amazing it was to watch his children together.

"Why haven't you and Alexis bought a house, yet?"

Ric thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "I couldn't tell you. She doesn't seem to want to. I think she likes her apartment."

"But don't you want a place of your own, that's yours as a couple, and not the place she lived before she ever met you?"

Ric looked at Elizabeth and could tell she had doubts about his marriage. He had doubts too, practically from the second he proposed, but it worked. It was a good partnership, his relationship with Alexis may not have been flowers and roses, but since when were all relationships supposed to be like that? Ric knew he wouldn't find the kind of love and passion with another woman that he had with Elizabeth, so he didn't look for it. But the more he thought about it, the more time he actually spent with Elizabeth, the more Ric realized how much he missed being ridiculously in love with someone. He cared about Alexis, even loved her on some level, but she wasn't the love of his life. She didn't inspire him to want to put down solid roots. Molly was the one true thing that tied them together, without her, he often wondered if he would even still be on speaking terms with his wife.

"She doesn't want to upset Kristina's routine. She said she has enough upheaval in her life because of Sonny, moving would only add to that," Ric muttered the stale explanation Alexis had given him the one and only time he suggested they move. He hadn't attempted to raise the subject again. He didn't really want to.

"Oh," Elizabeth nodded, stopping dead in her tracks as the approached the next house on the list. "That's it."

"This one?" Ric asked, looking around confused. "It is nice."

"It's perfect," she said while pushing Cameron's stroller towards the house. It had a spacious front yard, with a big tree that already had a tree house in it.

Ric smiled as he looked at the house, it looked a lot like their ill-fated home on Cherry Lane. He just hoped there were no secret rooms in this house.

It only took about ten minutes and Cameron running around the front yard in complete joy for Elizabeth to decide that it was the house she wanted. Ric simply nodded and called the realtor, he made an offer and was informed the odds of him getting it were remarkably good, it was nearly a done deal.

"Thank you so much," Elizabeth announced happily as she threw herself into Ric's arms. She melted against his body, remembering how good it felt to be held by him, and how well her body fit against his. She pushed away slowly, also remembering that he was a married man and no longer hers.

"Enjoy it, Elizabeth, you deserve it," he said, unable to take his eyes off of her. He had missed seeing her eyes flash with unbridled joy. He had almost forgotten how happy it made him to see her happy. He had to shake it off, though, because he couldn't go down that road again. He had a wife, he had made a commitment, and, most of all, he didn't want to risk breaking Elizabeth's heart again.

So he turned away from Elizabeth, towards the street, and as he did he felt all the breath go out of his chest. Walking towards him was a girl, about seventeen, with blonde hair and light eyes. He blinked a few times, convinced he was hallucinating, seeing a ghost.

"Excuse me," the boy who was with her said as they approached. "Can I . . . can I ask you something?"

But Ric couldn't find his voice, all he could do was stare at the girl who had seemed to walk right out of the past into his present.

* * *

As always, reviews are much appreciated! 


	4. Chapter 4 Vision Problems

Hello Wonderful Readers!

First off, I want to thank everyone for the amazing reviews. Feedback is really the lifeblood of the fanfic writer, so thank you for doing what you all do! I love writing the story, so I'm glad that a few people like reading it.

Secondly, here's the latest installment. A little Library Chapter loaded with exposition (I call it a library chapter in honor of the Library Scenes in seasons 1 through 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...all those expository scenes in the library with Giles explaing the 'sitch to the Scoobies...sorry, I've got BTVS on the brain right now), hopefully it'll introduce you to a character that won't be making her first real appearance until, at the earliest, chapter 6 (I haven't decided how to break up 6 and 7 yet).

Anyway, on with my little saga...one step closer heeping even MORE angst my dear lovelies!

Enjoy!

* * *

Historical Significance

Chapter 4: Vision Problems

"Excuse me," Phil said as he and Keely made their way down the street. As they got closer, he could feel Keely's body tense and he realized that the man in the happy couple they were walking towards was the man they were looking for.

Lucky had given them directions to Ric's apartment, but they had gotten lost on the way, and decided to ask for directions. He just didn't think they'd find who they needed directions to find.

"Can I...can I ask you something?" Phil stammered as he looked from Keely to Ric. It was strange, Ric was staring at Keely as if he had seen a ghost, and Keely was gazing at her father with absolute wonderment and fear. He didn't know what to do or say.

"Hi," the woman who was with Ric said as she came up to them. "I'm Elizabeth."

"Phil, and this is Keely," he said, motioning to his awestruck companion.

Elizabeth nudged Ric in the side, getting him to snap to attention. "I'm Ric, what can I do for you?"

"Well, it's kind of . . . complicated," Phil said as he looked at Keely, willing her to do or say something.

"We're lost," she finally spit out. "We were trying to find the movie theater, but I think we're going in the wrong direction."

"Actually, you're not that far off," Elizabeth said. She turned around and pointed, "Just go two more blocks down this way, make a right and keep walking until you get to the docks. You won't be able to miss it once you're down there. It's about ten blocks total."

"Thanks," Phil said with a smile as he took Keely's hand. "Is there anything else, Keel?"

"Nope, I think that's it," she managed a weak smile, her eyes never leaving Ric's. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Elizabeth said as the kids began to walk away.

"Have a good day," Phil as they made their way to the movie theater. Once they were out of earshot, he looked at Keely. "What was that?"

"Stage fright," she muttered. "That was him, Phil, with his family. Did you see the little girl in his stroller? And the little boy running around the yard?" She stopped and grabbed Phil by the shoulders, "That's my family, that's my brother and sister. Oh god, what am I doing? I'm going throw a grenade into their lives!"

"No you're not," Phil insisted. He touched her face, "Especially if you don't tell him who you are."

"But--I--," Keely looked over her shoulder at where Ric and Elizabeth had been standing. They were now gone. "Where'd they go?"

"Home? Do you want to head back that way and find out?" Phil asked.

"No," she shook her head. "Let's go to the movie."

"We weren't going to go to a movie."

"I need to calm my nerves, nothing does that better than a movie."

"Fine," Phil said with a smile, "Just no Lost Pony movies--I have to put my foot down somewhere."

* * *

Ric quickly retreated back into the house, pacing nervously around the empty living room. Elizabeth watched patiently, wishing he'd say something. She knew, for some reason, that the girl they had just spoken with had spooked him. She didn't know why, though.

"Ric, what's wrong?"

"Wrong? Why would something be wrong?" he asked, stopping in the middle of the hardwood floor. "I have a lot on my mind . . . busy."

"Your lying has gotten really bad since we've been divorced," Elizabeth pointed out. "Who was that girl?"

"Keely something, I don't know," Ric leaned against the far wall.

"Then why does she have you so worked up?"

Ric closed his eyes, feeling like he was losing his mind.

"She looks exactly like a girl I knew when I was that age," he admitted.

"Oh," Elizabeth said intently. She took him by the hand and led him to the staircase. She cast a quick glance at Cameron, who was playing with a truck, and Molly, who was sleeping, before turning her attention back to their father. Elizabeth knew everything about Ric since he came to Port Charles, but his past was a huge mystery to her. Especially his past that didn't have anything to do with Trevor or Sonny. "What was her name?"

"Alexandra Cabot, everyone called her Alex--I called her Cabot," he said with a wistful grin. "She was about a year younger than me."

"Did you go to school with her?"

"No, I went to Prep school in Manhattan, she went to somewhere equally as heady in the Hamptons," Ric explained. "We were summer friends. You know about my family's place on Martha's Vineyard, well her family had one too. We spent every summer together for as long as I can remember. I really liked her. She started out as a smart mouthed little girl, and grew into a cocky, confident, and beautiful young woman. Cabot was amazing . . . she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life since she was about ten years old."

"That is impressive," Elizabeth said, enthralled. While part of her was jealous to think there had been other women in Ric's life before her, she was also heartened to know that there was at least one good thing in his past. Something that wasn't tainted by his father or his hatred of Sonny. "Did you two date?"

"Briefly," Ric recalled. "We were friends until my final summer at the Vineyard. Actually, we started dating during Spring break of that year. We um...she was my..."

"Your what?"

Ric looked at Elizabeth, blushing slightly, "My first...I lost my...you know."

"Ric Lansing was a late bloomer?" Elizabeth teased happily.

"I admit it, I wasn't all that interested in dating or girls while I was in high school. Maybe I was always just waiting for...I don't know," Ric shook his head. "But, uh, we were pretty intense during the first part of the summer. Then she left and . . . we lost touch."

"What, it just ended? Like that?"

"Well, we obviously didn't end up happily ever after, Elizabeth," Ric told her with a chuckle. "I don't know what went wrong. We spent the fourth of July together, then the next day I had to fly out to Stanford to take some stupid entrance exam. When I got back, Alex was gone. Her parents said she decided to spend the rest of the summer with a cousin. I tried calling, writing, but I guess she moved on. Eventually, the summer was over and I started college...the rest is pretty much history. I don't dwell on it, though, because I probably would have broken her heart in the long run. My goals were very different then than they are now."

"So, what ever happened to Alex? Did you guys ever keep in touch, at all?"

"Not really, I kept loose tabs on her. She went to Columbia for her undergrad, then graduated from Harvard Law, top of her class, before going right into her career. She was the ADA for the Manhattan Special Victim's Unit. Because of a case she had to try, she became a target of a drug cartel and had to enter the Witness Protection Program. Alex Cabot was dead for three years," Ric said pointedly. "I often thought about giving her a call to welcome her back into the land of the living."

"Why haven't you?"

Ric shrugged, "I'm not the boy she once knew, haven't been for a long time. Besides, our lives are so different, so separate . . . we have nothing in common anymore."

"Well, you're both lawyers, that's something, right?"

"It wouldn't be fair, to push myself into her already complicated life. It must be rough to have to abandon your entire world," Ric said softly. "The last thing I'd want to do is mess up the life of another woman I care about."

"You still care about her?"

"Yeah, I guess, Cabot is about the only good thing I remember from growing up," he admitted. "She was a friend, one of the only ones I had."

"I think she was more than a friend, Ric," Elizabeth said, her jealousy almost completely evaporated. She wanted to meet Alex and thank for giving Ric something to remember fondly about his youth. "I think she was your first love."

"No, no," Ric said adamantly. "I can say with all certainty, you were my first love."

"Come on, Ric, my feelings won't be hurt," she insisted.

"I'm not trying to spare your feelings, Elizabeth, the truth is when I was seventeen I didn't know what love was, I didn't understand it. If I did, I would have told Alex that I loved her. But I didn't, because I didn't know what it meant. I didn't really know how to love until I fell in love with you," Ric confessed.

"But, looking back, can you say now that you loved her then?"

Ric shrugged, knowing that Elizabeth wasn't going to back down. He also knew that she was right. "I suppose I loved her in the only way I knew how to back then."

* * *

Pim happily walked down the path to the large gates that protected Graystone from the outside world. Or maybe it was to protect the outside world from what sat behind the gates. Either way, it didn't much matter to Pim. This was going to be easy, go in there, use the information from her Wizard, and get the mob boss to genuflect at her knees while giving her his territory. It was going to be easy and fun.

The gate seemed to be locked and while Pim could have used the intercom to be buzzed in, she decided that a little future technology would better serve her needs. She whipped out the Wizard and aimed it at the lock. It clicked open and she pushed the large gates open enough to let her through. She closed the gate and sauntered up to the house, fully expecting easy access. She knocked on the door twice before crossing her arms and waiting.

"How'd you get through the gates?" a rather large man asked as he opened the door.

"Weren't locked," she lied, smiling innocently at the man who had to be a body guard. "I'm here to see Sonny."

"Yeah, sure, buzz off, kid," the guard insisted.

"Listen, buddy."

"Don't call me buddy."

"Fine, what's your name?"

"Max."

"Ok, listen, MAX, I really need to talk to Mr. Corinthos, it is very important, I think he really needs to hear what I have to say."

"Number one, Sonny doesn't take meetings with children, he has better things to do," Max explained. "Number two, he's not home, he's having drinks and dinner at the Metro Court." Max shut his mouth, "I shouldn't have said that."

"But you did, thanks Maxwell," Pim said happily before rushing away from the door. As she made her way off of the property, she grabbed her Wizard to get directions to the Metro Court, whatever that was.

After getting the directions, Pim put her Wizard in the bag and grabbed the New Ager. "No meetings with kids . . ." she thought with a laugh. This was going to be so much fun.

* * *

"What do you say we go on a date?" Phil asked as he and Keely walked along the docks. The movie had ended and they were randomly walking around town, obviously trying to avoid doing anything about Ric. 

"Huh?"

"I don't know, we've been officially more than friends for a few days now and . . . we haven't celebrated," Phil noted. "I want to take you out on a real, old fashioned, date."

"A date?" Keely asked as they stopped walking, the glow from the street lights surrounding them.

"Yeah . . we can get dressed up, go to dinner, maybe dancing . . ." Phil said as he took her into his arms and started to sway around the docks. "Something romantic."

"This is romantic," she pointed out as they danced to unheard music. "Being with you is perfect."

"I just want you to be happy," he admitted. "No matter what it takes, that is my goal--to see you smile."

"Then force me to go see my father," Keely told him. "If I leave it up to me, I won't be able to do it. I don't think I'm strong enough."

"You are strong enough," he told, pulling her into a tight hug. "But if you need me to give you that push . . . I'll do it."

"Right now?"

"Right now," Phil said as he held her hand. "It'll go great."

* * *

"What did I do wrong now?" Ric asked as he and Alexis stood in the kitchen, arguing.

"I called your office, why didn't you go to work today?" she challenged.

"Because, I thought it would be nice to spend the day with our daughter. Plus, I was helping a friend out," Ric added with a smug smile. He had intended to keep his afternoon with Elizabeth a secret, however, Alexis was making him so angry he wanted her to know who he was with.

"Really? I didn't realize you had friends."

"Maybe I don't have many, but Elizabeth is one of them," Ric said pointedly. "I bought her a house today."

"What?"

"Back-alimony," he smiled. "It was nice, it was fun, spending the day with someone who actually likes me for me. It's a novelty in my life lately, but I enjoyed it."

"I don't like you for you?"

"No," Ric shook his head. "You like me for what I can do for you." He stormed out of the kitchen, furious. "And, can I ask, why you have the right to get mad at me? You should be thankful I haven't divorced you after the stunt you pulled when I was sick."

"Oh, you mean keeping the truth about Cameron from you? Give me a break, you're still mad that I didn't run to you with the truth? You buy Elizabeth a house, and yet I get your wrath. How does that make sense?"

Ric shook his head, "Maybe it doesn't, but I don't care. You kept the truth from me for some self-serving pathetic reason. Elizabeth was just scared."

"And I wasn't? My husband was sick and could have died, and I found out that the sainted, perfect woman he married twice was the mother of his son. I thought I was going to lose you to her."

"That's insane. Elizabeth and I had a past--I'm married to you, in spite of the fact I'm constantly treated like the help," Ric raged a he poured himself a glass of bourbon. "Though I'm constantly questioning my current situation."

"Fine, go ahead, run back to Elizabeth--see if I ever let you near Molly," Alexis threatened and Ric realized that was why he stayed married to a woman he didn't love. She could be as mean and vindictive as anybody he knew. In some ways, she reminded him of Sonny. She knew how to hurt him and would use it. "Are you willing to trade your daughter for your son?"

"You can't keep her from me," Ric said through gritted teeth. He put his glass down and grabbed his coat. "Nobody is going to keep my daughter from me!" As he said it, he grabbed the front door and threw it open. He was about to step outside when he realized that the girl from earlier in the day was standing there.

"Hi Ric," she began. In the background, Phil softly pushed her a step closer towards Ric. "I'm Keely Teslow -- your daughter."

* * *

So, there it is...Ric finally finding out the truth! We learn a little bit about Keely's mother! A little more Pheely love! And some Pim comic relief for good measure.

Want more? Well, feed the muse! Send a review my way!

Thanks again!

--Becca


	5. Chapter 5 What Was Missing

Hola Gracious Readers!

Thank you so much for the feedback for the first four chapter. I sound like a broken record, but I really appreciate what you all have to say. There was a question asked, that I think I forgot to answer, so I'll answer it now.

As many POTF/Raviv fans know he was on an episode of Law&Order:SVU. Well, one of you asked if the episode he was on featured Alex Cabot. Alas, no, he guest starred on an episode after Stephanie March left the show. His scenes were with her replacement, Casey Novack played by Diane Neal.

Speaking of Cabot, we're one step closer to meeting her...but she's still two chapters away! Hope you all enjoy this chapter! The muse has been well fed, but can always eat more...so reviews are always appreciated!

--Becca

* * *

Historical Significance

Chapter 5: What Was Missing

Ric stared at the teenage girl blankly. To say he was having trouble processing the situation was an understatement. A major fight with Alexis that all but ended their marriage was one thing, but he never expected the scene in his doorway.

A beautiful, fresh faced teenage girl was announcing she was his daughter. A teenage girl who, it turned out, was the spitting image of a girl from his past. It was almost surreal. If it didn't make sense, if it didn't seem to fit, Ric would have slammed the door in her face, or told her to bug someone else. But all he had to do was look in her eyes, a sparkling green, though, not blue like Alex's, and he could feel an almost instant connection.

When he saw her on the street earlier he wasn't seeing the ghost of Alex--he was seeing his own flesh and blood.

"My god," Ric whispered as he tentatively reached out, almost afraid to touch her. He believed her, without proof, without verification, he believed her.

"Oh my...what in the hell is going on?" Alexis wailed from inside the apartment. Ric had forgotten she was there. "What kind of con is this?"

"No--no con," Keely managed to get out. "I don't mean to drop this on you, Mr. Lansing, but . . . well, I was snooping around during the last day of school when I found out that I was...adopted. The records weren't sealed or anything, and my birth certificate said my parents were..."

"Me...and--and Alex Cabot," Ric finished. "That's why she left that summer," Ric pushed the door open all of the way before walking into the apartment and sitting down heavily on the couch. "I had to take those tests and when I came back, she was gone. My god, she was pregnant . . . seventeen years old, she was probably scared and . . ." He paused and looked up at Keely, who was now sitting in the armchair. "You look just like her."

"You believe me?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Keely shrugged. "It's a bit overwhelming, I didn't really believe it at first. You spend seventeen years thinking one thing...it's hard to believe the truth," she confessed.

"I know a little something about that," Ric said softly, thinking about the lies he grew up believing. Lies that almost ruined his life. "I believe you, Keely. You look just like your mother and . . . Alex wasn't the type of girl who . . . she was only with me that summer."

"Oh, come on, Ric, you've got to be kidding me," Alexis cracked as she stepped between Ric and Keely. "This is a con, she wants something--what with the way you're throwing money around these days, you're probably susceptible to a con."

"I'm not, I don't want anything...well, there is one thing."

"See, I knew it!" Alexis declared.

"What do you want?" Ric asked, not wanting to think Alexis was even half right.

"To know my father," Keely admitted. "My adopted dad died when I was little and I've never had a father. It may be too late to have a mother, but I would love to get to know you."

"I think I'd love that too," Ric said as he stood up and moved Alexis out of the way.

"At least get a DNA test," Alexis pleaded. "This is beyond absurd. You've know her for ten seconds and you are completely convinced she's your daughter? Did Elizabeth keeping Cameron from you screw you up so much you think you're everyone's father now?"

"Alexis, shut up," Ric hissed. "I don't need this now. Can you please excuse us?"

"Are you kicking me out of my own home?"

"You know what, forget it," Ric said as he held out a hand to Keely. "Do you want to go somewhere and talk? Kelly's isn't too far from here, we can go there and talk."

"That's where we're staying," Phil quickly spoke up, hoping to break the tension. "Nice place."

"And who are you?" Alexis asked, narrowing her eyes. "Is Ric your dad too?"

"No, that'd be impossible--and weird, since Keely's my girlfriend," Phil said with a grin. "The name's Phil, Phil Diffy."

"I don't care," Alexis cried before storming out of the room.

"Come on, you two, let's go somewhere less hostile," Ric said as he ushered them out of the apartment.

"Who was that?" Phil asked as they got onto the elevator.

"My wife," Ric said, wincing.

"Really? She seems kind of..."

"Awful," Keely finished. "If she's your wife...who was the woman this afternoon?"

Ric grinned, "That was Elizabeth, my ex-wife, twice."

"And the two kids?" Keely questioned, amazed at how relaxed she was with Ric.

"The boy is Cameron, he is Elizabeth and my son. The baby girl is Molly, my daughter with Alexis," Ric explained. "The funny thing is, I didn't know Cameron's was my son until recently, and now you come along. I never really had any family, now I have so much it is almost overwhelming."

"I'm sorry, if it is too much...I'll just..."

"Don't even," Ric instructed as they stepped off of the elevator into the parking garage and headed to where he had his Lexus parked. "I'm overwhelmed in a good way. I love family, it is all I've ever wanted, to have it grow is remarkable."

As they headed to the car, Ric unlocked the doors and headed for the driver's side. Phil grabbed Keely's hand and smiled.

"I can walk back by myself if you want some alone time," he suggested.

"Are you kidding?" Keely squeezed his hand, "I may be doing this, but I need you by my side while I'm doing it."

"Just checking," Phil winked before getting into the back seat. "Nice ride, Mr. Lansing."

"Thanks, Phil...but, please, don't call me Mr. Lansing, it makes me feel far too old," Ric quipped. "Just call me Ric."

After a few moments of silence, Ric glanced over Keely. "So, where are you from? I think that's a good place to start in getting to know you."

* * *

Pim stood at the entrance to the Metro Court's bar and spotted Sonny Corinthos, staring at him as if he were prey and she were a hunter. She straightened her shirt and backed away towards the lady's room. She snuck into the empty handicap stall and pulled out her new ager. She quickly dialed in a new age, thirty, and scanned herself. Within moments she stepped out of the stall and walked towards the mirror to survey the change. 

She was taller, her hair a little darker, her cheek bones a little more defined. Pim smiled happily.

"Momma cita is a hottie at thirty!" she said happily. "But this outfit won't do," she complained before whipping out the wizard and zapping herself a slinky beige chiffon dress that showed off her new figure. "Yes...much better, Corinthos won't know what hit him."

With her old confidence and a new look that screamed for attention, Pim strode out of the lady's room and right into the bar. Sonny Corinthos was eating dinner with a woman who looked to be quite a bit younger than him, not that Pim cared. She walked right up to the table, completely ignoring the woman, and extended her hand seductively to Sonny.

"Mr. Corinthos, I'm Pim Diffy, you're new best friend," she said as he reluctantly shook her hand.

"Somehow I doubt that," Sonny mumbled as he let go of her hand. "If you don't mind I'm having a private dinner."

"With that child? You can do much better, Sonny, with a woman like me," Pim said as she pushed Sonny's companion out of her seat, sitting in it instead.

"Emily! Are you ok?" Sonny asked as he looked at her sitting on the floor.

She jumped to her feet, glaring at Sonny, "It looks like you should probably speak to this woman. So I'll be at the bar until your finished. Make this quick."

Pim smiled at Sonny, gulping down Emily's wine in the process. "Now that we're alone, I have a business proposition for you."

"Who are you?" Sonny asked, beyond perplexed.

"Let's just say, I can promise you a double in profits within a week if you take me on as your primary advisor," Pim explained. "I have a keen eye for business and I'm not the least bit scared of _your business_, if you catch my drift."

"FBI?"

"Do you see anywhere I can hide a badge under this dress?" Pim asked seductively. She almost laughed, this was far more fun than she anticipated. "Besides, do evil geniuses generally work for the government? I could never work for the man, ever!"

"Are you mentally ill?"

Pim rolled her eyes, "Are you an idiot?"

"You're very odd Miss..."

"Diffy, but call me Pim."

"What kind of name is that?" Sonny questioned, unable to take his eyes off the strange woman sitting with him.

"One you're going to remember," she rose from her chair and smiled. "You can reach me at Kelly's."

"Why would I try to reach you?"

"Because you're not stupid, Mr. Corinthos, I can deliver on my word," she said with a wink, then added, "Oh, and Jax says hi."

On the way out of the restaurant she passed Jax, who didn't even recognize her. A second later she came out of the bathroom, back to normal and approached Jax who was waiting outside of the restaurant. "Where's that fifty dollars you promised?"

"Pim, where'd you come from?" Jax asked.

"I was just speaking with Sonny Corinthos, so where is my fifty dollars?"

"You talked to Sonny?"

Pim nodded, "If you don't believe me, you can ask him yourself."

Jax looked over his shoulder into the restaurant where Sonny was sitting, looking exceedingly confused. "I believe you, here," he reached into his pocked and took out a billfold, sliding a fifty dollar bill out and handing it to Pim. "You earned it."

"Earned it? More like child's play," Pim said as she stuffed the fifty into her pocket and got on an opened elevator. "Later, Down Under!"

"Jax!"

Jax turned around to find a befuddled Sonny approaching him.

"Corinthos."

"Who the hell is Pim Diffy and why did you send her to me?" Sonny asked, glaring at Jax.

"Oh, get off it, Sonny, I was just having some fun. She's harmless," Jax laughed.

"Harmless...she's...a barracuda, I can tell just by looking at her. She's incredible," Sonny muttered thoughtfully. "Intelligent, sharp, a takes no prisoners type of woman."

"She's a little young for you, isn't she?"

"I'm not looking to date her," Sonny scoffed. "But maybe I will pick her brain about business, a little discussion wouldn't hurt."

"You're kidding, right?" Jax gasped, unsure if he was hearing things or if Sonny had officially cracked up.

"What do you know?" was all Sonny said before going towards the elevators.

"Weren't you on a date with Emily?" Jax yelled as Sonny boarded the elevator shrugging apologetically. "Strange, strange man."

* * *

It had been about twenty minutes of aimless conversation mixed with intense staring. Phil was happy for Keely, but he had to admit that he was bored out of his mind. Not to mention, he felt like he was intruding on a very private moment. 

"Well, I should probably head upstairs to get settled in," Phil said as he stood up from his chair and looked between Ric and Keely.

"Are you sure?" Keely asked, grabbing his hand nervously.

"Yeah, I should really check in with my parents...and maybe attempt to locate Pim," he smiled and squeezed her hand supportively. "It was great finally meeting you, Mr. Lansing."

"Oh," Ric winced. "Again with the Mr. Lansing."

"Sorry, sorry," Phil chuckled. "Good to meet you, Ric." He reached out to shake Ric's hand and leaned closer, dropping his voice. "I'm counting on you doing right by Keely. Ok?"

"Ok," Ric said seriously. He swelled with a bit of pride, the young woman before him seemed to be mature, sweet, and clearly a good judge of character. Just by watching how the boy acted around her, Ric could tell that Phil related everything that went on around him to how it affected Keely. At seventeen, Phil was a better man than Ric knew he ever would be.

"Phil," Keely scolded, not entirely keen on her boyfriend warning her father. There was something backwards about that. "I'll come by before I go to bed."

"I'll be waiting," he said with a wink before heading upstairs.

"He seems like a great guy," Ric noted with a smile. "How'd you two meet?"

"School," Keely began. "I'm not really the best student, but Phil is brilliant, I could tell right away. I asked him to tutor me in math and...well, the rest is history. We've been inseparable ever since."

"So, you're...a couple? Together?"

"For a couple of days now," she blushed. "Phil and I have been best friends for years, but I think our feelings have been deeper for a long time. It's just a natural evolution. There is nobody better to be in love with than your best friend, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," Ric sighed. The only person he considered a friend, let alone a best friend, was Elizabeth. They became better friends, in fact, after breaking up. But was he still in love with her? That was a question to be answered at another time. He had higher priorities. Namely, his daughter.

"What was my mother like?" Keely blurted out. She wasn't sure where the question came from, but the impulse to ask it was almost overwhelming. Her father, for all intents and purposes, seemed to be terrific. She had to know what the other half of her was like.

"When she was your age? Well, she looked just like you do now . . . her eyes were blue though, and she was a little uptight, in a very adorable way," Ric grinned. "I was crazy about her from the minute I saw her...but Cabot had other ideas. We were friends for a long time before anything happened."

"Like me and Phil," Keely said happily.

"Not really. I wasn't half the guy Phil is, I wasn't the type of person who Alex could really trust. I was a typical eighteen year old guy. Instead of loving Alex being my top priority, my main focus was starting Stanford in the fall," Ric explained, shaking his head in disgust. "I guess that is why she gave you up for adoption and never told me. I have to confess, you're probably better off."

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I wasn't a very nice guy for a very long time. I've only recently started to learn what it takes to be a man, someone worth loving, worth respecting," Ric paused and looked at his daughter, his heart pounding beneath his chest. "It's a shame I wasn't better to Cabot, because she is a great role model for anyone, especially a young woman like you."

"Was, at least."

"Was?"

"Yeah," Keely noted solemnly.

"Why did you come to see me first?" Ric asked, feeling suddenly like he missed a chapter. "Wouldn't you want to meet Alex first?"

Keely could feel tears welling up in her eyes. "How? She died a few years ago. We read it in the report the adoption agency had."

"Died?" Ric shook his head. "Keely, Alex is alive. Her death was faked so she could enter the Witness Protection Program...apparently the threat no longer exists because she is back."

"Back?"

"In Manhattan, she's a bureau chief for the DA's office," Ric told an increasingly shocked Keely. "Clearly the agency's files weren't up to date."

"My mother is alive?" Keely asked as she attempted to hold back the flood that was approaching. "My mother and my father are both alive."

"Alive and well, sweetie," Ric said softly as he moved his chair closer to her. He placed his arm around her shoulder, realizing this was the first real contact he's had with his daughter. "I'll call her."

"What? No, I couldn't...you two haven't seen each other in years, probably."

"Seventeen, to be exact," Ric sighed. "I think I have a really great reason to change that."

"You're not mad at her for not telling you?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Ric admitted. "I wasn't fit to be a father when I was eighteen, but all I've ever wanted was family. And you were out there, my own flesh and blood . . . I'm just so happy I have you now."

"Me too," she admitted, leaning into Ric's embrace. "But will Alex be happy? This could ruin her life."

"No it won't," Ric whispered as he wiped away a tear that was tracing down his daughter's cheek. "It'll change it, but it could never ruin it. I promise you, Keely, I won't let you down--do you want to meet Alex?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Then she'll be here by tomorrow night." Ric stood up and kissed the top of Keely's head. "I'll call you in the morning, sweetie."

Keely watched as he walked towards the door, "Ric?"

He turned expectantly towards her.

"Thanks."

"For?"

"Being so cool...even though I've probably complicated your life."

Ric shook his head, the warmest smile Keely had ever seen creasing his face. A father's smile. Something she had never experienced in her life before.

"You didn't complicated it...you've enhanced it," he said with a wink before slipping out of the diner and into the cold night air.

Once outside Ric flipped open his phone and waited for the other end to answer. "Hi, my name is Ric Lansing and I need to book your earliest flight to Manhattan."


	6. Chapter 6 Before the Sun Rises

Hello Loyal Readers!

Sorry that it's been a while since an update. I was in Hershey for a trade show for work, so I've been really busy since the last update!

Some of you asked for more Pheely in the last chapter, well, here you go! This chapter is full of the core couples of the story: Pheely and LiRic. I hope you all are enjoying the story, the couples, and everything I'm building towards. Chapter 7 will finally bring Alex Cabot into the story, and even more drama for Keely. But, until then, here's some Pheely goodness!

Enjoy and please, feel free to review!

Thanks.

Becca

* * *

Chapter 6: Before the Sun Rises

Keely stood in the hallway for about ten minutes. She just stood there, listening to her own heart beat. It was all she could do to keep from passing out. Stand still and wait for the world to spin a little bit slower. The day was overwhelming, impossible to comprehend.

She met her father and he was a dream. An absolute dream. She couldn't have imagined or hoped for it to go better. He was charming and warm, handsome and smart, and he loved her. Ok, maybe he didn't say the words, but maybe he didn't need to say them. A daughter should be able to tell her father loves her just by looking in his eyes. And looking in Ric's eyes she could see it, she could feel it. Maybe it didn't make sense, maybe most people couldn't comprehend how it was possible, but it was. She felt it, she knew it, they were family. Without hesitation, without reservation, they were family. She had a father.

And a mother.

Alex Cabot was alive and well and Ric was going to bring her to Port Charles. For some reason, Keely was much more fearful and nervous about meeting her mother than meeting Ric. Ric didn't give her up for adoption, Ric didn't even know she existed. Alex did, and Keely couldn't figure her out, couldn't understand her. She wanted to meet her, to know her, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for it.

So, she just stood there, listening to her heart beat, as she waited for the world to stop spinning so violently. She needed the pace to slow down so she could formulate a game plan.

Keely felt she could be herself, let her guard down with Ric. But there was no way she was ready to let her mother, let Alex see that side of her. She had to be the Keely the entire world knew. The fun, bubbly, teenager that everyone thought she always was.

Everyone but Phil.

Keely looked to her left at his closed door. Part of her wondered what the summer would have been like if she had just not opened that damn file. If she had listened to Phil and not looked. They'd probably be languishing by the community pool, doing nothing but getting tans and talking, laughing. They'd be having fun, they'd be young and relaxed.

But she looked and changed everything. Her world was spinning and she couldn't stop it, could barely take a minute to realize that, beyond meeting her parents, she had a boyfriend.

Her best friend, the one person she could talk to, laugh with, sit in a peaceful silence with, was now her boyfriend. It happened so quick, in between so much chaos and drama, that she didn't have the time to properly absorb the joy of it all.

It was hard to pinpoint exactly when Phil became The One for her. It wasn't love at first sight, no, she was too foolish, too short sighted to realize how remarkable the new boy was. He was different, smarter than everyone, out of place even. But he was cute, and genuine. It wasn't hard to find reasons why she wanted the new boy in Pickford in her life, and it was impossible to conceive of life without him once he was there.

When she learned his secret, when he trusted her with the truth, she knew they'd be bonded forever. But the exact moment she fell in love with him and knew there would never be another boy for her? There was never one moment, it was cumulative, it was ongoing. She fell in love with Phil a little more everyday.

And it killed her to be so involved with the drama concerning her parents. She wanted to celebrate, to show Phil exactly how much she loved him, needed him, and wanted him in her life.

Keely managed to steady herself and was about to knock on Phil's door when it swung open.

"Hey," he said happily, standing in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a white tank top. "You ok?"

Keely nodded. All she needed was to look in Phil's eyes to achieve, if for just a minute, a moment of peace.

"Now I am," she whispered and fell into his arms.

"What's up, you seem a little intense," Phil observed as he rubbed her back gently. "Did something happen with Ric? Do I have to kick his ass?"

"No, no," Keely laughed softly as she wiped a tear off her cheek. "He's great, almost perfect."

"Then what is wrong?"

"My mother."

"Did she call? I'll call my folks again and have them go talk to her, let her know everything really is ok here," Phil said quickly, wanting to make the situation right for Keely.

"No, not my mom...my mother, Alex Cabot," Keely stammered. "She's not dead, Phil. Ric said she's alive, that her death was faked so she could enter Witness Protection or something ridiculous like that. I mean, really, what kind of absurd world are we living in?"

"Said the girl who is dating a boy from the future," Phil teased. "What else did Ric have to say about Alex? Does he know where she is?"

"Yeah . . . and he's going to get her," Keely said, wincing slightly. "I don't...I think...I am way nervous. I can't get my mind to stop thinking, I don't know how I'm ever going to get any sleep tonight."

"Then lets break the rules," Phil smiled. "Put your PJs on and bunk with me tonight." He paused, flashing a nervous, half grin, "If, uh, that's something you want. You know, I wouldn't want to put any pressure...any...I am not...just, you know, we can talk until you fall asleep. Or watch a movie or something. We won't do, you know, anything...we're not ready, you know?"

Keely leaned forward and placed a quick, soft kiss on his lips. "You're the best, Phil Diffy, what would I do without you?"

"Good thing you don't have to find out, you're stuck with me," he told her earnestly.

"Good," she said while opening her door. "Give me ten minutes and I'll be over. I should check in with my mom, first, too."

Phil watched as she disappeared into her room. He was about to head back into his when he heard the familiar clicking of his sister's boots.

"Well, if it isn't the prodigal sister," Phil smirked as she strode down the hallway. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh, nothing, just...getting a feel for the town," Pim grinned. "How'd things go with Blondie's dad?"

"Great, Ric Lansing is a pretty decent guy," Phil paused, "And Keely just found out that her mother is actually alive. Ric went to get her."

"Wow, so we'll get to meet Mother of Blondie? Cool," Pim said sarcastically. She looked at Phil seriously, "What do you know about the mafia?"

"What?"

"Oh, forget it, I'll just watch the Godfather, should be enough," Pim shrugged.

"Pim, what are you doing?" Phil called after her as she headed down the hallway towards her room. "Why do you want to know about the mafia? PIM! If you get us in trouble I'm going to send you right back to Pickford! PIM!"

Elizabeth rushed into the airport, nervous and confused. She had an urgent message on her voicemail with Ric asking her to meet her at the airport as soon as possible. She had no idea what was going on, but something told her it was big. Bigger than a house, bigger than anything she could imagine.

She spotted him sitting in the lounge that sat right outside of the security check point. He looked tired, worn out, and somewhat frantic.

"Ric, what's wrong?"

"Why would you think something is wrong?" he asked half-jokingly. "Sorry, I'm a little nervous."

"You're not going to ask me to run away with you, are you?"

Ric smiled, "Would that even be an option at this point? I think both of our roots are far too firmly planted here in Port Charles."

"Then why are you at the airport, Ric?"

"Remember that girl we met this afternoon?"

Elizabeth nodded, "Yeah, the one who looked exactly like your first love."

Ric sighed, "Well, yeah, her. The reason why she looks so much like Alex Cabot is because . . . she's her daughter."

"Wow...wow...wait...why is she here?"

Ric licked his lips nervously, "Because she's also my daughter."

"She's...wow," Elizabeth gasped, sitting down almost involuntarily. "Did you know?"

Ric shook his head and sat down next to Elizabeth. "I had no idea. I didn't know Alex was pregnant, didn't know she gave our daughter up for adoption."

"And you're sure this girl...wait, what's her name?"

"Keely Teslow," Ric said, his voice full of pride. "She's seventeen, an aspiring journalist, she's amazing, Elizabeth . . . amazing."

"I'm happy for you," Elizabeth said and squeezed Ric's hand. To say she was overwhelmed was an understatement, but the joy in Ric's eyes was almost contagious. "How'd you find out?"

"She came to the apartment and...I knew, I just knew, Elizabeth. I looked at her and I felt the connection I feel to Molly and Cameron. She's blood, she's...my family, my daughter, no doubt in my mind," Ric explained. "I barely know her, but I already know I love her. She's my daughter."

"It's all you ever wanted."

"Not all," Ric said pointedly as he looked into Elizabeth's eyes. His children were only one half of the equation. He loved Elizabeth and desperately wanted her back in his life. But this wasn't the time or the place to try to make inroads there. He had to deal with Keely, and Alex, before setting his sights on winning back the love of his life.

"So you have a seventeen year old daughter, Ric, why are we at the airport?"

"Keely thought Alex was dead, the adoption agency never updated their records . . . I have to go to Manhattan, find Alex, and convince her to back to Port Charles with me."

"What does that have to do with me? I mean, Ric, I want you to consider me your friend, so if there is anything you need from me, just say it...but..."

"Well, can you keep an eye on Keely tomorrow? Alexis and I...well, we had a rather huge fight, I think our marriage might be over," Ric confessed. "I just don't want Alexis to get anywhere near Keely, at least before I can make sure Alexis isn't going to take her anger on me out on her. There are things Keely will need to be told, but by me."

Elizabeth nodded understandingly. She knew exactly what Ric was talking about, what he would day have to tell his daughter.

"Alexis wouldn't do that, would she?"

"I don't know, but I'm not about to put my daughter in the middle," Ric noted. "I think you'd be a good influence on Keely, though, a calming influence in the midst the chaos that is surely overwhelming her."

"Sure," Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't know how calming I'll be, though."

"You've always given me peace," Ric admitted. "You don't have to go out of your way, just stop by Kelly's before work tomorrow. Keely and that boy that was with her, Phil, Lucky gave them rooms there in exchange for a few hours of work a week. So if you can just stop by, introduce yourself, I'd really appreciate it."

Elizabeth placed a hand on Ric's leg and smiled, "Sure, Ric, I'd be honored."

"How'd it go with your mom? With Mandy?" Phil asked as Keely climbed into the bed next to him. "She's still cool with this?"

"Yeah, I guess, she wishes I didn't insist on doing this alone," Keely noted. "I told her I'm not, I have you."

"Damn straight."

"But I might not always," she said softly. "Listen, I know I'm asking a lot of you. Postponing our summer plans is one thing, but . . . there is so much I don't know about where I come from, I may want to stay here, maybe go to college here . . . I couldn't ask you to . . ."

"Wherever you are, Keely, I'll be," Phil cut her off. "I like this town, it's nice, homey, I could see us going to PCU, settling down, doing the college thing. I am not in this for a laugh, Keel, I'm in it for the long haul."

"But we're young, I couldn't ask that of you."

Phil sat up in the bed, his heart caught in his chest. "Are you having doubts about us? Would you rather we were just friends?"

"What? God, no," Keely gasped, sitting up and hugging him from behind. "You're all I've ever dreamed of. The boy of my dreams, my best friend who I'm in love with. No, no, that's not what I'm saying at all."

"Then what, Keely?"

"Nothing is guaranteed, Phil, I can't expect you to put your life on hold to watch me meet my parents," Keely insisted.

"You are my life," Phil shook his head, smiling. "You know, I talked to my parents tonight. My dad was talking about nearly figuring out the time machine."

"See what I mean."

"No, that's not it," Phil gently cupped Keely's face in his palm. "I told my dad that I had to make a decision. No more waiting for something that may or may not happen. I told my dad that even if he does fix the time machine, I'm not going back. My home is here, now, with you. I may miss my parents, but I cannot live without you in my life. It would be a hollow existence, Keely.

"Sometimes I think that this was supposed to happen. The time machine was supposed breakdown, I was supposed to meet you, and we were supposed to fall in love. A written in the stars kind of thing."

"Destiny," Keely whispered.

"Soul mates," Phil responded. He gently lifted her chin to look her in the eye. "I know we're only seventeen, we haven't even graduated high school yet, but you have to know that I'm not going anywhere. At least I'm not going anywhere without you. Partner."

"Partner," Keely smiled and fell into Phil's arms. "You know, I was thinking about our future . . ."

"You mean, when you weren't being fatalistic about it?"

"Yeah," Keely laughed. "PCU supposedly has a really good journalism program."

"And how'd you find this out?"

"The internet," Keely smiled.

"So that was what took you so long getting changed."

"You know, we really do make a great team, like the perfect team," she declared.

"I never thought about what I wanted to do with my life. But a career spent looking at you? Not a bad idea . . . I wouldn't mind being the exclusive cameraman for the world famous journalist, Keely Teslow."

"I think I have a plan."

"What's that?"

"Well," Keely leaned forward conspiratorially. "At the end of the summer, no matter what, we go back to Pickford for our senior year. I really would feel like I've missed out on something if I don't see that part of my life through. But, then, we come back here for college. We get a nice little off campus apartment and . . ."

"I love it," Phil exclaimed. He pulled Keely on top of him, kissing her quickly as she tumbled down. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Of course--but why?"

"It's very cool that you want to go back to Pickford for our senior year, and that you know what you want to do with your future, your life," Phil shook his head in amazement. "I may be the one from the future, but you're the one who knows exactly what you want out of it."

"And right now, what I want out of the future is some sleep. We have to work in the morning!"


	7. Chapter 7 Reckoning

Hello Lovely Readers!

Hope you're still interested, I know it's taken me a little long to get this posted. Not that I didn't have it written, just got kind of busy to post. Anyhow, it's back!

Not quite as much Pheely (though, I promise a big, whopping plateful next chapter), but we finally get to meet Keely's mom, so that's something, right?

Also, I want to apologize for not replying to all the wonderful feedback. It really means the world to me that everyone is reading and reviewing, I will try to get better at it! Thanks and keep it coming.

Now, on with the story!

* * *

Chapter 7: Reckoning

Ric Lansing walked into the poorly lit squad room, his eyes scanning the scene for a face he'd recognize in his sleep.

It was strange, thinking about Alex again after almost two decades, but there he was, about to confront his past. Elizabeth was probably more right than wrong in her assessment of Alex's place in his life. In many ways she was his first love, his first experience with something that didn't involve jealousy, or anger, or vengeance. And from that singular experience, they had created a child. A beautiful, well adjusted young woman. Ric was rather confident in believing that their daughter was so well adjusted primarily because they hadn't raised her. The man he was during her formidable years would have surely screwed her up beyond words. But now? Now, Ric was ready to be a real father to his daughter. He had no idea if Alex was prepared to do the same.

Alex Cabot, a woman who had her life goals written down in a notebook since she was eleven. Alex Cabot who achieved all of her goals until fate, or a Colombian drug lord, stepped in and sidetracked them. Alex Cabot, beautiful, smart, strong with more virtue and integrity than existed in almost all of Port Charles.

Ric shook his head. His life was prime for exploding. He enjoyed the drama and the chaos. Keely coming into his life was a challenge, a beautiful, lovely challenge. But Alex liked order, she liked a challenge only if she could win. This wasn't a challenge she could win. Being reunited with her daughter had no ultimate outcome. There was no prize at the end. There wouldn't be an A on the test, a fellowship to be granted, a conviction handed down. It would be an ongoing, ever present challenge of being a parent.

But maybe Alex had changed. Maybe she was flexible and ready to face every day without a concrete plan.

Yeah, and maybe the sky would turn red.

"Can I help you?"

Ric turned to face a rather stern, steely looking man.

"I'm looking for Alex Cabot, her office said I could find her here," Ric said, glancing at the man's badge.

"She just left," the detective said. He squinted at Ric as if he were going to ascertain what he was up to just by looking really closely. "What do you want with her?"

"Well, detective..."

"Stabler, Detective Stabler."

"Sure," Ric shrugged., "Detective Stabler, I'm an old friend of ADA Cabot's and I need to see her immediately, it's an emergency."

"What kind of emergency?"

Ric smirked, this guy obviously seemed territorial over Alex. A friend, lover? He wasn't sure. He didn't really know Alex anymore, so he certainly didn't know what her type was.

"Personal," Ric said softly. He couldn't tell Stabler the truth, it wasn't really his place to tell Alex's secrets to her friends and colleagues.

"Name?"

"Excuse me?"

"What's your name? If Alex calls or stops back, I'll let her know you were looking for her."

"Oh, uh, Ric Lansing . . . do you know where she went?"

"She had court this morning, probably be there until noon," Stabler noted before sitting down behind his desk. "So, you're a friend of Alex's?"

"From another life."

"You mean...when she was in the..."

"When she was in high school," Ric said with a grin. He stepped forward, "Can I ask you something, Detective Stabler?"

"Depends."

"Understandable," Ric noted. "How is she doing? I mean, after being away for so long . . . how is she adjusting to having her life back?"

"She's adjusting well, I guess," Stabler shrugged. "It's weird, though, she seems reluctant to, I don't know, relax. A few of us stopped by her place the other night, tried to get her to join as the bar, and we noticed she hadn't unpacked like half of her boxes. Like this isn't permanent."

"That's not entirely surprising, right?"

"I guess not, but it's a shame. Alex loved this city, she loved her life before. It's like she's looking for something to make her life real again," Stable explained guiltily. "I don't know why I'm telling you this."

"I won't tattle," Ric told him. "Thank you, though, it helps a little to know what her life is like now."

"Lansing," Stabler called out as Ric approached to leave. "If you do anything to hurt Alex...I will make you pay. And I don't mean I'll arrest you."

"Dully noted," Ric said with a nod before leaving the squad room.

He stopped and flipped open his cell phone, a text message from Elizabeth blinking at him. "Hi, at Kelly's...Keely is fine...hurry home." Ric flipped his phone shut and thought for a moment. Alex hadn't reset her roots, she hadn't made a home out of her home yet. Maybe there was hope, maybe the news about Keely would go over well.

Or maybe he needed to hope that. For Keely's sake. And his.

* * *

"This sucks," Keely declared as she dropped a pile of plates into the sink where Phil was washing. "I'm so not cut out for the food service industry."

Phil grinned at his girlfriend and blew a few bubbles at her. "We only have like fifteen minutes left, suck it up Teslow."

"Sure, sure . . . but, next time we agree to something, let's get the details first," Keely peeked into the diner. "I didn't realize a little diner like this could get so busy."

Phil shrugged, "The food is pretty good."

"Yeah, but . . ." Keely stopped when Elizabeth came into the back room, a towel tossed over her shoulder. "Hey."

Keely really didn't know what to make of the woman. She came to Kelly's bright and early, introduced herself and let them know she was there if they needed anything. As far as Keely could figure, she had married and divorced Ric twice, they had a child together, and were now great friends. Elizabeth was nice, kind, and Keely could see why her father wanted her in her life. But, why did Elizabeth want to be in her life?

"How's it going back here?"

"Wet," Phil gestured, splashing water all over the place. "Washing dishes is a wet job, but somebody's got to do it."

"I wiped down the tables out there for you," Elizabeth explained as she laughed softly. "So, you're in the clear if you want to check out for now. I'll tell Lucky you two did your time."

"Thanks," Keely said tentatively. "But it's only a few minutes."

"Trust me, you won't get another customer rush for at least a half hour," Elizabeth declared confidently. "And I think Penny can handle what we do get."

"And how can you be so sure?" Phil asked with a smile.

"I worked here since I was fifteen until two years ago," Elizabeth smiled.

"Really?" Keely questioned. "Why? Aren't you a nurse?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "By necessity." She paused, "Don't get me wrong, I like my work, I know I'm doing a good thing, but it's not my passion, it's not what I love to do."

"What do you love to do?" Keely asked. She figured if she could get to know someone her father loved, maybe she would learn a little bit more about her dad. Maybe she could learn about what her father loved.

"Paint," Elizabeth said happily. "I was the eternally starving artist, and I didn't mind it." Elizabeth led the duo out into the dining room where Phil and Keely sat down at the counter. "Well, I wasn't exactly starving all of the time," she poured them each a glass of lemonade.

"Wealthy benefactor?" Phil asked as he took a sip of his drink.

Elizabeth shook her head, "Wealthy husband."

"My dad," Keely smiled. "He's rich?"

"Ric has a healthy trust fund, and he's an amazing attorney, add it together and . . . I wasn't starving while we were married. Other things, yes, but I never wanted for anything material," Elizabeth explained with a smile. "Ric actually organized a one woman art show for me."

"That's so cool," Phil announced. "How'd it go?"

"It didn't."

"Why not?" Keely wondered.

"It's...complicated, really," Elizabeth stressed. "And it is not my place to really get into it. Your father will tell you everything one day, until then, don't worry about what happened in the past."

Keely nodded, though her curiosity was piqued. "How'd you end up a nurse?"

"Cameron, my son, was born and I had bills to pay. Ric and I were divorced and I had to put my childhood dreams aside to support my baby," Elizabeth explained. "Waitressing and painting wasn't going to cut it."

"So, why'd you and Ric get divorced? You seemed happy together yesterday," Phil asked. "Wait, complicated?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "It is complicated, sometimes I'm not even sure why we got divorced."

"Then why not get back together?" Keely wondered. She looked at Elizabeth and could tell the woman still loved Ric. Keely couldn't imagine not being with Phil. How could you not be with the person you love? It was impossible to comprehend.

"More complications. After a while, our lives diverged . . .I got back together with my first love, Ric married Alexis Davis . . . I'm just thankful we've managed to become friends again," Elizabeth confessed. "It's a relief to know that my son's father and I are on good terms."

"That is a good thing," Keely said softly, her mind drifting to her parents. She wondered if Alex would be as warm and welcoming as Elizabeth.

"It'll be fine," Elizabeth whispered as she leaned forward and placed a hand over Keely's. "She'll love you."

"How are you so sure?" Keely wondered, half amazed that Elizabeth had read her mind.

"She's your mother," Elizabeth said confidently. "There is a bond between mothers and children that can't be broken--not by circumstance or time."

* * *

Ric sat in the empty corridor of the court house, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited on the bench nearest the courtroom Alex was supposed to be in. He probably checked his watch a million times in twenty minutes. He wasn't exactly prepared when he heard the door open and about a dozen people stampeded out of the courtroom.

Just as quickly as the commotion came, it was gone. Ric looked around, certain he hadn't missed Alex. As he stood up and was about to find out if she had in fact been in the courtroom, he heard a voice so distinct there was no mistaking who it belonged to.

"Just make sure you get that motion filed as soon as possible," she was instructing a younger, male attorney, as they exited. She handed him a file folder as she spoke, "I think today went fine, but you can't let the defense use your own cross against you."

"Sorry, Alex, I'm just . . ."

"You're not just anything, you're an ADA in New York City, I expect more," she chastised as they stopped just outside the courtroom. It only took a moment for her to recognize him, her entire body freezing in shock as she did. "Listen, take these back to the office and do the research we discussed. I'll be back later."

"Whatever you say, boss," the young man said with a smirk before rushing off.

Ric smoothed down the front of his light blue shirt as he stood up. He realized that he had been wearing the same shirt and khakis since the day before. Not that it mattered, by the look in Alex's eyes he was certain she didn't even register the fact that he was even wearing clothes.

"Oh my god..."

"The hyperbole is unnecessary," Ric quipped as he walked towards Alex. There was no denying it, she was still captivating. The perfect blonde hair that framed her Grace Kelly features, those ice blue eyes that could make a man both weak in the knees and fear for his life, almost perfect.

"It's been a long time, Lansing, what are you doing here?" Alex asked, giving no indication she knew his true reasons for the visit.

"Can't I visit an old friend?" Ric's smile started to falter. Somehow, he had convinced himself that Alex would take one look at him, after seventeen years apart, and know exactly why he was there. She'd look at him and remember their child, she'd explain everything, all of her reasons, and then she'd agree to go to Port Charles with him, no questions asked. Instead, she stared at him, blankly, slightly confused.

"Sure, I guess," Alex shrugged as she removed her glasses. "Though I'm sure there is an ulterior motive at work. You don't go twenty years without speaking to someone only to have him show up out of the blue. A phone call would have been nice."

"Seventeen years."

"What?"

"It hasn't been twenty years, Cabot, it's been seventeen. Give or take about six months," Ric said, his jaw clenched tightly as he spoke.

"If you say so," Alex's voice was tight, choked almost. Ric looked at her, into those eyes, and could see them flicker with recognition, with truth. It didn't sate him, though, oddly, it enraged him.

"Keely Teslow," he stated simply, quietly.

"Pardon? Ric, what are you doing here?" Alex asked, panicked.

"Her name is Keely Teslow. She's seventeen years old, blonde hair, green eyes. She has a boyfriend who she adores. She grew up in California. She wants to be an investigative journalist. She plays the guita. She's a sweet, smart, well adjusted teenager," Ric explained, a smile spreading across his face as he spoke of Keely. "And she's our daughter."

"Ric...I..."

"...was seventeen, and gave her up for adoption, I get it, I understand," Ric said calmly. "What I don't get, what I can't stop thinking about, is why didn't you do anything once you had the means to? And why didn't you tell me?"

"And ruin your brilliant future? Stanford, Harvard, an elite firm . . . it was all laid out in front of you. I had no right, nor the intention, of ruining that," Alex explained, emotion creeping into her voice.

"My life didn't exactly work out that way, anyway," Ric informed. "In fact, I wonder if . . .I wonder if knowing about my daughter could have saved me from myself." Ric looked down at the ground. He knew Keely had been better off with her adopted family, however, there was a selfish part of him that wondered if she was what he had been looking for his entire life. The anger he felt over Sonny stealing his mother, the madness he was driven to when Elizabeth lost their first child, it all could have been avoided, perhaps, if he had known his daughter.

Or, he could have ruined her life before she had a chance to live it.

"We were kids, Ric, we had no right to be parents," Alex confessed. "It wasn't fair to our daughter." She looked away, "I had to give her away, for her sake as much as ours."

"Mmm hmm, sure," Ric muttered. "The records weren't sealed, Alex, why didn't you go to her once you had the chance? Why didn't you at least tell me?"

"How did you find out?" Alex wondered as she looked at a suddenly seething Ric. "What happened?"

"Somehow our daughter found out she was adopted. The agency still thought you were dead, but they had my current address," Ric paused and smirked. "Thanks for actually putting my name on the birth certificate."

"You are her father."

"She came to me, wanting to know her father . . . yesterday," Ric added. "And, I have to say, seeing her I knew it was the truth. And I knew you were her mother." Ric's face softened as he spoke about Keely. "She is the mirror image of you at that age. So beautiful, so much potential . . . our daughter, Cabot, ours."

Alex stepped closer to Ric, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. "When I was in the program, I used to stay up at night thinking about her . . . I was afraid I would never have the chance to ever see her."

"You had a million chances before, and you've had a million chances since you've been out," Ric pointed out. "Why didn't you do anything?"

"I didn't have a right, Ric, she has a family, a life--a pretty good one you seem to think, how could I disrupt it all to serve my own desires?" Alex questioned, shaking her head honestly. "I couldn't risk hurting her to make myself feel better."

Ric reached out and touched Alex's face softly. "Please come to Port Charles with me to meet your daughter."

"What? Now?"

Ric nodded. "She's waiting for us."

"No, I can't," Alex shook her head. "I'm busy, I'm in the middle of a trial, I have responsibilities . . . it's not a good time."

"What happens if your shot in the street again? But this time the bullet doesn't just miss your heart? Hmm? Our days aren't infinite, Cabot, our chances aren't limitless," Ric explained. "I almost died this winter without knowing my own son. I'll never take another day for granted, I'll never deny another opportunity to be with my family

"Alex, she's family, mine, yours, ours," Ric whispered softly. "When your life is over, what will be more important: your ambition, or the child you have a second chance to know?"

"Ric...I just . . ."

"JFK," he handed her a ticket. "The flight leaves at five," Ric stated quietly. "You have until then to decide what is more important to you. I understand this is...overwhelming, so you have this time to think."

Ric looked Alex for a second, confident a woman of her integrity would make the right decision, before he turned and walked to the exit, leaving Alex alone with her own thoughts and demons. He couldn't make Alex want to be Keely's mother, all he could do was hold the door open and hope she walked through it.

* * *

Well, there it is, Chapter 7 Reckoning! I hope you enjoyed it. And, while Alex seems distant and cold (and may seem that way for a few chapters), she's really not evil, she just has a lot on her plate. Everyone involved has a lot of issues to deal with!

Thanks!

Becca

* * *


	8. Chapter 8 Gift of Irresponsibility

Here's Chapter 8, I hope you enjoy it as much as Chapter 7 and all the others. I really appreciate all the wonderful feedback, it means a lot. I know that the story is moving along at a snails pace in regards to plot, however, I am setting up a pretty intense plot for post-Alex/Keely meeting.

This chapter, kind of a filler, but FULL of Pheely! So, I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks!

* * *

Historical Significance

Chapter 8: Gift of Irresponsibility

"Phil Diffy, what are you doing?"

"Taking your mind off of...everything," Phil insisted. "Just be patient."

"It's hard to be patient with a blindfold over my eyes," Keely complained as she allowed Phil to lead here wherever he was taking her. The truth was, she was momentarily content. Putting the day in Phil's hand, having the opportunity for some alone time with the single most important person in her life, was just what she needed. It had only been a few days, but Keely missed the way life had been. Just the two of them, hanging out, laughing, talking, being young...it was something she desperately needed an injection of.

So when Phil declared he was going to take her away from her worries for the afternoon, Keely agreed almost instantly. Ric had called to let her know that he wouldn't be back until later in the evening, leaving Keely with two options: sit around anxiously waiting for her parents, or relax in the company of her boyfriend. It really was a no brainer.

"Where are we going, it feels bumpy?" Keely asked as she walked gingerly. Phil had a firm grasp on her arm, keeping her steady as he led the way.

"When you were on the phone with Ric, I was talking to Elizabeth, asked her where the most remote, beautiful place in this town was . . . and that is where we're going," Phil announced with a smile in his voice.

"If I get hurt or . . ."

"Sh, do you trust me?" Phil asked.

"Of course," and it was the truth. Trusting Phil was like breathing for Keely. It was instinct, it was necessary. In a world that seemed to change with each passing second, Phil was constant. Without him, she'd be lost.

"Then, stop walking and . . ." he untied the blindfold, "open your eyes!"

Keely took a quick breath when she saw where Phil had taken her.

They were standing on a bluff that overlooked the entire city. The trees were green and lush, wildflowers in a million colors were poking through the lush field, and in the distance Keely swore she could hear the soft roaring of a waterfall. Beneath them the city looked expansive and picturesque. The scene was breathtaking, and Keely was happy.

For a moment, maybe even an afternoon, the anxiety that clouded every thought was gone. She felt like the girl she was before she read the file, before her life was turned on its head.

"Phil, this is amazing," Keely gushed as she turned and hugged him. "But now that I've seen it...what are we going to do?"

"What are we going to do?" Phil asked rhetorically as he pulled his Wizard out of his backpack. "I know you didn't want to use any future technology to find out about your parents...but I can't see why we couldn't use it for an afternoon of indulgent relaxation."

"By doing..."

Phil pointed the Wizard into the center of the field and zapped a purple blanket filled an assortment of goodies. He turned to Keely, an expectant smile on his face.

"Just promise me I won't end up with cake on my face this time?" Keely asked as they walked towards the picnic blanket. She sat down and picked up the bundle of orchids that Phil had created. "This is amazing . . . just like my birthday, you know exactly how to make me smile. How are you real?"

"Well, I am a highly evolved creature from the twenty-second century," Phil joked.

"So that's how you have such insight into my heart?"

"No, I know your heart because you've shown it to me," Phil smiled as he popped open the basket and pulled out two cans of soda, handing one to Keely.

She took the can and popped it open, silently thinking intently for a moment before turning back to Phil.

"This can't be fun for you, standing by while I deal with my parents. Not exactly fun," Keely said with a sigh.

"It's not exactly not fun," Phil grinned. "Remember that party we went to with Seth and Tia? It was the biggest party of the year, that just so happened to fall on Unification Day. We all wanted to go, but I realized...it wasn't the most important thing that night. Remember what you did?"

"I went back to your house for dinner," she remembered.

"Yeah, you were selfless, you did something I wanted to do because it was what I needed. Keel, you've done that a lot for me. You've put up with a lot, you know that? I can only imagine how frustrating it was for you to spend every day knowing that I might have to leave," Phil shook his head. "I'm sorry I ever put you through that, you know? From the very beginning, I knew it would be impossible to walk away from you. And then every day I've spent with you since, you've just reinforced why I can't leave, and why I'd do anything for you. You may be my girlfriend, but you'll always be the best friend I'll ever have. And so . . . I'll put up with drama and angst, I'll hold your hand and have your back--because I know you would do the exact same thing for me."

"Thank you, really, for...being you," she smiled before rummaging through the picnic basket. "What do you have in here?"

"Well, the usual..."

"Oh, fried chicken, pasta salad . . . cake . . . don't even think about it," Keely warned. She scooted backwards away from Phil and the cake. "Seriously...I don't feel like washing icing out of my hair . . ."

Phil paused, a devious grin on his face, "Even if I promise to wash it for you?"

Keely stopped moving, her eyes locked on Phil's face. He said it jokingly, but there was an undeniable sense of seriousness in his statement. They had danced around any sort of evolution in their relationship. They were a couple. They kissed. But sex? Or anything sexual? They hadn't even really made out much. However, the idea wasn't something Keely hadn't thought about. In fact, way before they made the move from friends to couple, Keely had envisioned a more mature turn for her relationship with Phil. But fantasy and reality were two different things.

"Phil..." she breathed, trying to steady her thoughts. "Let's just eat, ok?"

Straightening up, Phil's lighthearted attitude turned serious. "What's wrong? What'd I do?"

"Nothing, nothing," she shook her head and grabbed a piece of fried chicken. Taking a bite, she forced a smile, "Good!"

"Keel . . . out with it? What's up? You made a sharp right, but I'm not sure why."

She looked down, almost ashamed. "It's...you know...what washing my hair...includes."

"Soap, water...what else?"

"Phil," she stressed. "You know...sex."

"Sex?" he blurted nervously. "Why would it include that? I mean ... I guess I know what you mean, but ... do you think that is what I was--insinuating?"

Keely shrugged. "We are a couple, and we're that age...and it's no secret how we feel about each other."

"But sex is a huge step, Keel, and I'd never pressure you," he moved closer, placing his hand on her left as he looked into her eyes. "Making love to you isn't something I'd make light over."

"But you haven't--made dark over it, either," Keely stammered. "You know what I mean. We haven't discussed it all. We should."

"We should," Phil agreed, nodding. "Where do we start?"

"How about...have you ever done it?" she asked, almost terrified to hear the answer. She had no idea what the future was like, maybe people had sex at much earlier ages in 2121. All she knew was that she hadn't even kissed, really kissed, a boy until Phil kissed her.

"Of course not," Phil stated bluntly. "It never even occurred to me until..." He trailed off, averting his eyes nervously.

"Until?"

"I met you," he smiled. "I never felt--physically--for anyone what I feel for you. I can't lie, Keely, you do ... things to me."

"Ditto," she confessed, blushing slightly. "I can feel it whenever we kiss...how I don't want it to end, how I want more...I just don't know..."

"If we're ready?" Phil nodded thoughtfully. "I think if we're not sure if we're ready, we're not ready."

"You're probably right," Keely relented with a sigh. She looked at Phil, the sun casting an almost ethereal glow on him, his smile painfully sincere and beautiful, and felt her heart leap. "Well, we never do know when the time will be right though, do we? It can happen like that," she said, snapping her fingers for emphasis. "I love you, Phil, I want to be able to show you how much I love you."

"You don't need to show me anything, Keel, I know," he whispered. "I know."

"Good, because I don't want you to ever doubt it," Keely said as she leaned down, placing her head in his lap and looking up at the almost perfect summer sky. "It's probably best that we don't want to rush into anything. Just look at my parents."

"Well, you know," Phil began. He brushed a hair from her eyes and smiled. "I'm actually really grateful that your parents were irresponsible and rushed into sex."

"Really?"

"Well, of course...it gave me you."

Ric sat in the airport lounge, nursing a bourbon, straight, and not realizing how much his hands were actually shaking.

Seeing Alex again, after seventeen years of change, was like being transported into another dimension. Just looking into her eyes for one second reminded him of what he felt like at eighteen. Full of energy and potential, the anger and frustration that would haunt his adult years not yet present. He wasn't exactly happy at that age, happiness was always an elusive emotion for Ric Lansing. But he had been content, ready to accept the fate he had been dealt.

Back then, the only fate he really wanted included Alex Cabot. He didn't know what love was then, but he knew he cared for Alex, he knew she made him laugh and was the only person he could cry in front of. She was the only person he ever told, until Elizabeth, about his mother. In a perfect world, they would have been the perfect ivy league couple. Attractive, charming, well educated, they would have been the toast of Manhattan. The savvy ADA and the esteemed corporate attorney. Money, power, and prestige would have been placed at their feet.

But would it have been enough? Ric looked into his glass and couldn't come up with the answer. They wouldn't have had that life if Alex had never gotten pregnant. Keely wouldn't exist. And while Ric had only known his daughter for twenty-four hours, not having her in the world wasn't a prospect. Not to mention,to have that perfect dream life would mean Ric never made it to Port Charles. Never met Elizabeth. No Cameron and Molly.

Shaking his head, Ric knew that in spite of seventeen years of turmoil and pain, he had come out ahead. He couldn't trade the horrors of his current life for a picture perfect life if it also meant trading what he loved most: his children, and Elizabeth.

No, in spite of swallowing the regret of a lost life, Ric knew everything worked out the way it did for a reason. He just hoped Alex felt the same way.

Alex had her own drama, her own horror story to tell, Ric was sure. He had to give her credit, she didn't back down, she didn't crawl in a hole and disappear. Her life was taken from her, ripped away in order to make sure she lived to see another day. But she fought back, she fought all the way back to the top. That took guts, that took fire, something he always knew Cabot possessed.

He just couldn't understand why she seemed so unwilling to embrace a miracle from their past. Why was she so terrified in the courthouse? What did she have to lose?

Control, for one. Control of her life not being the way she had planned it, lived it, liked it. For Ric, losing that control, needing to adapt and change for a family was one of the driving forces of his life. He wanted to be a father, it meant the chance to become someone better, someone he never really was, something he never had. But for Alex, he figured, it meant becoming someone she never expected to be. Perhaps, someone she didn't feel she deserved to be.

"Can I get you another?" the bartender asked, rousing Ric from his thoughts.

"I'll have a vodka, rocks, with a twist."

Ric looked over his left shoulder and saw those ice blue eyes looking at him expectantly.

"Give the lady what she wants, on me," Ric grinned as he spun around on his stool to face his counterpart. "So you came."

"Unless you're hallucinating," Alex quipped. The bartender pushed a glass in front of her, which she promptly snatched and downed in one mouthful. "I'm terrified, Lansing. I don't really know how I'm going to do this."

"It's really not that difficult," Ric noted as Alex sat down next to him. "You go 'Hello, Keely, I'm Alex,' because that's all she wants."

"Really? How are you so sure?"

"Because she's you," Ric confessed.

"And what was I like at seventeen? Except, of course, reckless and stupid?" Alex asked bitterly before motioning to the bartender for another drink.

"Sweet, and brilliant, and a hell of a lot more relaxed," Ric told her wistfully. "Does anyone know how funny you are? God, you used to make me laugh so hard..."

"I think my sense of humor was ripped from me when I had to give my baby away," she stated bluntly. She looked away. "Sorry. Old wounds."

"Understandable," Ric stood up and held his hand out to Alex. "We can mend those old wounds. I can't say you won't still have the scars, Cabot, but I promise you they'll no longer hurt."

"What if she hates me?"

"She won't."

"How do you know? Of course she likes you, you didn't know, you didn't give her away," Alex chided, tears burning her eyes. "You didn't let...you didn't hold her once and manage to let her go. You were both my victim."

"What?" Ric moved to Alex, lifting her chin so she could see his eyes. "I'm nobody's victim. Ok? Looking back, I know you did the right thing for Keely, for you, for me. Hell, until recently I wasn't even close to being a man worthy of being a father. At eighteen I was a punk kid with ambitions and vendettas that would have crushed any dreams of a family. And, god, Cabot, you had your entire life ahead of you. The good you've done for this city as ADA is immeasurable.

"Keely doesn't want to know why, she just wants to know you, that's it. Her life is pretty good, she's a happy young woman. There's a boy who adores her, who simply looks at her like she's the greatest thing in this entire world. That's a miracle, that's a blessing, to know that kind of love. And as much as I'd like it to be different, she wouldn't have had that if you didn't make the sacrifice to do what was best for her."

"So all is right in the world because our daughter has a boyfriend?" Alex gasped, unable to really buy Ric's explanation.

"No, I'm saying all is right because our daughter has a good life. She's from a nice small town, she has friends, she has an adoptive mother who loves her, she's found the love of her life...we may not have had anything to do with it, but we have a million reasons to be proud," Ric told Alex, hoping to see a smile spring to her lips. But it didn't come. Instead she started to cry.

"Cabot, hey," Ric said softly, pulling her against his chest as she cried. "What's this?"

"Nobody knows, my entire life is a fabrication, who I am, what I've done, it's all a lie," Alex cried. "My best friends don't have a single idea that I gave away my daughter. I did it without a fight."

"Why would you need to fight? You were making a sacrifice for her own good."

"I never said that," Alex corrected as she backed away and looked at Ric. "It wasn't my decision. I didn't want to give her away, but I had to. I was ordered to."

"By your parents?" Ric asked, confused.

"No, by yours," Alex said sharply. "Your father made it known, in no uncertain terms, that if I didn't disappear and give away our child, he would make sure I'd never go anywhere in my life. And he assured me that you would never be part of my life or our baby's."

Ric staggered backwards. This was what he knew. The light, happy feeling in his heart was an aberration. Misery, regret, anger was what he really knew. This was all too familiar territory.

"My father . . . my father is responsible?" Ric mouthed, his throat dry and his voice weak.

"I swear, Ric, I did want us to be a family, but Trevor would never have let it happen."


	9. Chapter 9 Face to Face

I've been a bad, neglectful author again, and I apologize for not thanking everyone individually for the replies. They really do spur me on (as do new episodes of POTF, which, YAY, we get on Friday...of course, that makes me sad, when I realize there are a limited number of episodes left...but, let's not bemoan that now, cause Pheely will live on in fanfic, lol).

Chapter 9...it's taken a while...but it happens here! Finally, finally...mother and daughter...face to face!

The next couple of weeks may be a little hectic for me, so this may go on a slight hiatus until about the first week of April. However, I have SO MUCH in mind for this story, it isn't going anywhere, I promise. There is some romance, some misguided plans by seventeen year old girls, there is drama, angst, and a big ole mystery that is going to bring everyone to their knees! It'll be fun!

So, keep reading, keep replying, and forgive me for not replying to everyone (I am reading every last reply, though!).

Enjoy!

* * *

Historical Significance

Chapter 9: Face to Face

"How do I look?" Keely asked as she burst into Phil's room and spun around a few times. "Well?"

Phil smiled, "You look amazing, beautiful . . . but then again, you always do."

"Phil, come on, unbiased," Keely insisted, smacking him playfully on the arm. "Do I look: serious, flighty, immature?"

Phil surveyed Keely's attire. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a form fitting white blouse, with a pink blazer. He wasn't sure of the answer Keely wanted, but he knew what he saw: the most beautiful girl in the world.

"You look ready," Phil said softly as he moved across.

"I think I am," Keely declared. "Thank you for this afternoon, it helped to make me relax. I think I can now face my mother and not be nervous." Keely paused and cracked a smile, "Ok, I'm super nervous, but I don't think I'm the only one."

"That's the spirit," Phil declared, snapping his fingers. "I bet Alex is even more nervous than you."

"Well that's stupid," they heard someone bark from the hallway. Rushing to the door, they opened it to find a woman, in her late twenties, early thirties, wearing a too tight and too short power suit, furiously talking into a cell phone. They looked at each other, shaking their heads.

"Pim!" they said simultaneously.

The woman looked at them, winced, and turned back to her cell phone conversation.

"Tell Mr. Corinthos that if he doesn't consider my offer, I'll be forced to go elsewhere. And he knows exactly what elsewhere means," she said sternly into the phone before flipping it shut and throwing it into a handbag that was only big enough to hold a phone. "I bet your about to ask what exactly is going on."

"No, no," Phil shook his head as he glanced at Keely. "I'm pretty sure I know exactly what is going on. What about you, Keel?"

Keely nodded, "Yup, I think I got myself in trouble once doing exactly what she's doing."

"Well, not exactly," Pim smirked. "You ended up on a date with Vice Principal Hacket. I, on the other hand, am embarking on a potentially life altering business and personal relationship."

"Pim," Phil hissed. "You used the New Ager."

"Yeah, that's obvious, but there is no way I could get done what I need to get done looking like a fourteen year old."

"You ARE a fourteen year old," Phil stressed.

Pim motioned to her body, "Not when I'm thirty. And I must say...damn, I have something to look forward to at that age."

"Give me the New Ager," Phil ordered, holding out his hand expectantly. "Now."

"Can't, Big Brother," Pim said with a smile. "I have a meeting to attend with someone named Jason Morgan. He's going to help me to get Sonny Corinthos to agree to a partnership."

"Wait--did you say Sonny Corinthos?" Keely asked, her mind clicking the pieces together. Elizabeth mentioned Sonny, she was sure of it, but in regards to what . . . "That's my uncle!"

"What?" Pim asked, both shocked and pleased. "My new business partner is part of The Girl's long lost family? That's delicious."

"Yes, and he's also a notorious mobster," Phil instructed. "De-age yourself back to your right age and discontinue any association with Sonny Corinthos."

"Sorry, Phil, I can't do that. Got to jet," Pim said with a wave and wiggled her curvaceous thirty-year old body down the hallway.

"This is just going to be a disaster," Phil shook his head and leaned against the doorway. He looked at Keely who was clearly deep in thought.

"My dad's brother is a mobster, that is what Liz said," she muttered. "And my mother is currently an ADA in New York, and my dad used to be the DA here." She paused and laughed, "It's almost ridiculous."

"I know you want to get to know your family, but I think we should all steer clear of Corinthos," Phil suggested. "When you were showering I went online. The guy has never been convicted of anything, but he's notoriously dangerous."

Keely nodded understandingly, "I want to know my parents, the extended family isn't that important at this point. Especially if said extended family happens to be a mob boss. You don't have to worry about me. Your sister, on the other hand, we should be terrified of."

Phil sighed, "This could be so dangerous."

"Maybe we should tell Lucky, I'm sure he'd keep an eye on Pim," Keely suggested.

"Oh, I'm not worried about Pim--I'm actually worried about what she could end up doing to everyone else. My sister has, without a doubt, the potential for genius--evil genius."

"I still wonder what happened to Debbie Berwick," Keely wondered as she leaned against the wall, laughing softly.

"My gosh, I haven't thought about her in forever," Phil paused and smiled. "What do you think Tia would say about us?"

"You mean us as in Us?" Keely smiled happily. "She'd say 'it's about freaking time,' Tia always used to tell me that I was a fool if I didn't realize you and I were perfect for each other."

"I'm glad you're not a fool," Phil grinned as he leaned forward and place an innocent kiss on her lips. "We should call her, isn't she in Boston?"

"Thanks," Keely sighed, veering off topic.

"For?"

"Reminding me, for a second, of what my life is really about, really like," she said, a hint of sadness in her voice. Phil could tell by looking in her eyes that Keely was slightly weary, slightly uneasy with the events taking place in her life. "No matter what happens here, I'll always have Pickford and my real life."

"If that is your real life, what's this?" Phil challenged. He knew Keely needed to talk about what was going in her head, but he knew she wasn't about to volunteer it.

"I don't know. It doesn't feel very real, though," Keely shrugged. "It's summer vacation."

"What are you saying Keel? Do you want to turn around and go back? Cause we will. If this is too much, just say the word, and we'll go home," Phil declared. "I just want you happy."

"Keely."

They both paused, Keely unable to answer as she heard the voice of her father coming up the stairs.

"Ric," she smiled as he approached. Though the smile quickly faded as she realized what awaited her downstairs. Her mother.

"Sweetheart," he breathed, giving her a quick hug and nodding at Phil. "How was your day?"

"It was nice, Phil took me on a picnic," Keely explained. "Apparently to a place you took Elizabeth in the past."

"Ah, the bluff," Ric smirked.

"How was New York?"

"Busy, tense," Ric noted. "She's at the hotel, if you were wondering. She'll be here shortly. I thought, while we waited, you and I could talk."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Phil clapped his hands together and pointed towards the stairs. "There was a scone that I had my eye on, I think I'll grab it."

"Thanks," Keely whispered as she kissed Phil on the cheek before he disappeared down the stairs. "So . . ." she motioned to her room. "What was Alex's reaction?"

"Shock, mainly," Ric lied. There were far too many thoughts, questions and emotions running through his head to fully express whatever it was Alex was going through. Ric's head was in a fog ever since seeing Alex at the airport and hearing her tell him that it was his father's pressure that made her give up Keely. Suddenly all the anger and hatred Ric had known, all the lies he believed, started to come into focus in a new way. His father was at the heart of every loss Ric had ever suffered. The only way he could find the strength to keep from easily falling into the abyss that was the darkest part of his soul was the knowledge that Keely was waiting for him.

He had to pull it together. He had to take a shower, put on some fresh clothes, and force that practiced smile. He couldn't let the demons shatter his life again. He lost Elizabeth, the truest love of his life, because he allowed the darkness to overpower him. He couldn't let it creep back into his heart now. He had Keely. He had Molly and Cameron. And, maybe, he could even have Elizabeth again. Life was too good to destroy again.

"This was my room," Ric observed as they stepped into the tiny bedroom. He sat down on the edge of the bed and grinned. "But you knew that, didn't you?"

Keely shrugged, "Lucky may have mentioned the lawyer that once stayed here. Why did you?"

"It's a long story," Ric balked. He knew one day he'd have to tell Keely everything, but he wasn't entirely prepared to do it right then.

"Summarize it," Keely prodded, sitting down next to him. "Why did a powerful, rich attorney live over a diner?"

"I came to Port Charles to...insinuate myself in my brother's life," Ric began slowly. "I didn't know how long I would be here, or exactly what I'd accomplish, so I got this room. Living here kept me from showing my hand too soon."

"Sonny Corinthos, my uncle," Keely said softly as she walked across the room. "There is a lot to this story, isn't there? Stuff you don't want to tell me."

"Yet," Ric insisted. "Someday, sooner than later, I will tell you everything. But we just met, I want to get to know you before..."

"How bad can it be?" Keely gasped, spreading her arms out. "What secrets could you possibly have? I know Elizabeth is involved, I can tell, but it couldn't be that bad if she's still so loyal to you. She'd do anything for you, so how badly could you have screwed up?"

"You have no idea," Ric winced, burying his head in his hands. He took a deep breath. "I don't deserve it, and you don't owe it to me, however, please, just have faith that I will tell you the entire story soon. I just can't lose you yet . . ."

Keely moved in front of her father and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Lose me? No matter what you will tell me you can't lose me. We're family, right? Blood. Nothing breaks that."

Ric nodded, grateful. Maybe his sins wouldn't matter. Maybe his daughter would forgive him for something he still carried guilt about.

But one thing was certain, after only twenty-four hours, Ric had grown attached to his teenage daughter. She was as much his family as anyone, and he wouldn't let anything hurt her. Even himself.

"Do you mean that?"

"Of course."

"Good," Ric stood up and held out his hand to her. "Then, it's time to see Alex."

* * *

"I'm feeling out of the loop," Phil confessed to Elizabeth.

She wasn't exactly sure why she was at Kelly's beyond Ric asking her to stop by for moral support. She wasn't his wife anymore, his girlfriend, she was merely a friend, yet, she was willing to do anything he asked, anything he needed. Elizabeth could feel the pull growing stronger.

That unique pull that wouldn't let her heart truly let go of Ric, even when she was married to and in love with Lucky, even when she was supposed to hate Ric. She loved him, no denying that, but the biggest mistake she could make would be to fall in love with him again.

That mistake was practically a reality.

"It's not our job to be in the loop, in this instance," Elizabeth informed her companion. "Our job is to just be there when they need us. To love them through the drama."

Phil looked up and was amazed by the strength and wisdom Elizabeth exuded. She was so young, yet he felt like she was someone who understood the world, who had a handle on her life.

"I'm glad to know you, Liz," Phil smiled. "Because if someone as kind and real as you loves Ric, then I know he's got to be a decent guy. If he were anything less I don't know what I'd do . . ."

"You remind me of someone I once knew," she recalled fondly.

"Really? Who?"

Elizabeth smiled, "A boy I loved in another life. He saved my life, taught me how to love, truly."

"What happened to him?"

"Life, tragedy, everything you couldn't imagine," Elizabeth chuckled, amazed at how long ago that part of her life felt.

"So, you loved this boy, stuff happened, and then you loved Keely's dad?" Phil questioned. "And then you married that Lucky guy? But, yet, you're like Ric's best friend. Did anyone ever tell you that you're life is a soap opera."

"Believe me, I know, I wish I could sell the rights to my life and make a fortune," Elizabeth smiled. She reached out and touched the boys face, her tone suddenly serious. "Keely is really going to need you, you understand that? It won't be easy, and it certainly won't be romantic, but she'll need you more than ever...stand by her, ok?"

"She's my everything, Liz, my bestfriend, my girlfriend, my soulmate...I'd wait a hundred and fifteen years for her," Phil smiled.

* * *

Alex Cabot walked up to the tiny diner and felt her heart leap into her throat. Her daughter was inside. The baby girl she gave up so long ago was just a few steps beyond those doors.

She didn't know what to do or think. All she could do was clutch her purse tightly and concentrate on breathing. This certainly wasn't how she planned her life. Never in a million years did she think she'd end up in upstate New York about to meet her daughter.

But her plan had long since gone off course. Spending two years in the Witness Protection Program changed her and she couldn't really get back to who she was before the shooting. She was distant from the only friends she ever really had, and her job was somehow less fulfilling, less realistic. Supervising young ADAs wasn't the same as being the top ADA in the city. She didn't get the same sort of sense of accomplishment she would when a guilty verdict would send a child molester to prison.

Everything Alex had once considered important seemed to be changing. Love had once been a distant indulgence she didn't have time for. Now she seemed to be yearning for it on a daily basis. There had been flirtations, there had been lovers, but there had never been anyone to move her.

Or to help her move on from Ric Lansing.

It was amazing, after seventeen years he was still the only boy she ever loved. Only he was no longer a boy. He was a man, married three times, with two young children. He had demons and angels, he had a full life that didn't include her. She was happy he had found his way in the world, because in spite of how it ended she did love him.

Seeing him at the courthouse confirmed the one thing Alex could never verbalize: the enormity of her loss.

She loved a boy, and she loved her baby. And she lost them both. Gone, in a second, and she was alone.

Alone.

That was a state Alex had grown accustomed to. She was alone even when she was the top ADA in the city. She was alone while in the Program. She was alone when she had to grieve for a mother who died thinking her only daughter was gunned down in the street. She was alone when she sat on the witness stand and testified against her would-be assassin. She was alone when she returned to Manhattan and a new position in the DA's office. And now she was alone outside of a small diner.

All she had to do was go through the doors and she'd no longer be alone.

Alex reached out to grab the door when she saw a young woman descend the stairs at the back of the diner.

Ric had been right, the girl was clearly her daughter. No DNA test necessary. The physical resemblance was stunning, but more than anything, Alex could feel it in her heart. She could feel a connection to the girl before even meeting her.

Alex closed her eyes, remembering the only time she ever held her baby, before she was taken away. She was so tiny, her eyes were so big and trusting, Alex almost didn't have the strength to let go. But she did. And for seventeen years she made peace with her decision, moved on, grew up, and wished she made the right choice.

Looking at the young woman who was so clearly her own, Alex knew she had made the right choice. Her baby was alive, and healthy, and seemingly happy. She shook her head and turned around. She didn't have a right to disrupt her life now. Alex made a choice, she had to live with it.

Or maybe she couldn't deal with it. Alex froze, her back to the diner, tears forming behind her glasses. She wasn't asking to see her daughter, her daughter wanted to see her. As selfless as it was to give her up seventeen years ago, Alex had to put her own fears and emotions aside to go inside and meet her daughter.

"Alex?"

Alex turned around to see the girl standing at the door, holding it open, a look of confusion and happiness lighting up her green eyes.

"I'm Keely Teslow," the girl said, taking a step closer. "Ric Lansing is my father . . . and he says you're my mother. Are you?"

Alex brought a hand to her mouth and gasped. She could barely find her breath, let alone her words, and was only able to manage one word.

"Yes."


	10. Chapter 10 Common Ground

Hello Readers,

So, I was right April got really busy for me. Of course, that kind of transitioned into a busy May. I wouldn't exactly say I have a lot of free time, but I have been writing and I've gotten a few chapters of the story written.

Slowly but sure, we are building to the real action in the story...sometimes it just takes a while to establish everything.

Oh, this is a cool tidbit, I will be going to the Aly&AJ concert in Wilkes-Barre PA in June. I will likely be, at all of 25, the oldest person in the audience, but I'm excited. Rob Thomas one week, Aly&AJ the next.

Here's the latest installment...I was going to title it "Secrets Revealed" because a certain handsome attorney pours his soul out, but thought this fit better. Enjoy and, please, feel free to review...feed the muse!

Thanks!

Becca

* * *

Historical Significance 

Chapter 10: Common Ground

The mood inside the diner was much more relaxed than anyone could have predicted. Phil sat at the counter, picking at a piece of apple pie as he kept a watchful eye on the only occupied table. Elizabeth stood behind the counter, casually listening to the conversations while fussing with a dish rag, the coffee pot, anything to keep her hands busy and her mind occupied.

At the center table sat the reunited family. Father, mother, daughter. Seventeen years after being torn apart, they were finally reunited. It was a site to behold. Alex couldn't keep her eyes off of Keely, and when she could find the strength to tear her eyes off of her daughter, she would look at Ric with a mix of adoration and confusion. Feelings that should have been dead and buried seventeen years ago, were still clearly sitting at the forefront of Alex Cabot's mind.

On Ric's part, he watched mother and daughter with equal interest. It was hard to tell who he was more protective of. His daughter, in his eyes, was strong and vibrant, better for the choices made by others in her life. She could stand on her own two feet and face down anyone. Alex, his first love, though, seemed far more vulnerable. A woman who had become a pillar of strength and force in the Manhattan legal community, looked as stable as a house of cards. Practically on the verge of tears, she calmly tried to hold it together while making idle conversation with the daughter she just met.

As for Keely, she rambled and talked, telling stories from her childhood and the many adventures she had experienced with Phil. She was putting up a good front, and was able to come off as her affable self, but only because she had Phil watching her back. If he hadn't been there, she wouldn't have been able to figure out how to use her voice to speak.

"So . . . when did you get back?" Keely finally blurted out the question that was likely on everybody's mind.

"Not long ago," Alex managed. Her hands were clutched so tightly around the coffee cup in front of her that her knuckles were turning white. "Everything happened so fast. Cesar Valez was indicted, I was offered the job of Bureau Chief . . .I came home . . . it's surreal, you know?"

Keely nodded. "Yeah, I know . . . like finding out that your adopted and meeting your real parents. Surreal."

Ric straightened up at the tone in his daughter's voice. It was the first time she let any amount of bitterness or frustration come to the surface. He wanted to reach out and take her hand, to let her know it was ok. And he wanted to support Alex, to give her the strength he was surprised he had found, after all, it was his father's fault their lives happened the way they did. He was stuck in the middle, and could only look up, helplessly.

"You've had a good, life, though? You've been happy, safe?"

"Yeah, sure," Keely shrugged. "It doesn't make up for the feeling that my mother didn't want me."

"Keel," Phil gasped. He was about to leap off of his stool to comfort her, when he felt Elizabeth's hand on his shoulder.

"Let them, they need this," Elizabeth whispered as Phil returned to his seat.

"That's ... I did what I had to do, but I've always loved you," Alex insisted, her steely front starting to show signs of wear. "I had no other choice."

"Yes, you did," Keely stated simply, coldly, as she stood up. "You could have kept me, you could have told Ric, you could have looked for me once you were no longer a kid. You had a million other choices--and you made a million other choices in your life. It just so happens that none of them included me, your daughter."

"Keely," Alex rose, eye to eye with her daughter. There was a strength in the teenager that made Alex feel like she was looking in a mirror. A sense of self, mixed with a sense of doubt and confusion, that echoed her own feelings. She had never felt more connected to another person in her entire life than in that moment with her daughter admonishing her. "It just isn't that simple. We make decisions, and they create new obstacles . . . I know it sounds like an excuse, but it's the truth. The time was never right, never ideal for me. For so long I feared my presence in your life would only be detrimental to your childhood. And then . . . I was a target and . . ."

"And you almost died," Keely cried. "Wouldn't that be a motivator to finally meet your daughter? It's not that you couldn't, it's that you wouldn't."

Keely moved towards the door but looked back at Alex. "You know what sucks? In spite of knowing that you didn't care enough to look for me, I cared enough to look for you. And I cried when I thought you were dead. You're my mom, even if you don't love me."

"Keely, no . . ." Alex called out as Keely ran out of the diner and into the night. She moved to the door, followed quickly by Ric. She looked at him, her eyes pleading and helpless, "That's not it, Ric."

"I know, I know," Ric whispered as he pulled Alex into his arms. "She's young, she's vulnerable, this is a lot to take . . . it'll get better."

"I better go after her," Phil announced as he and Elizabeth joined Ric and Alex in the courtyard.

"Actually, son, let me," Ric informed the boy. "Please?"

Phil nodded, "But if she needs me, I'll be here."

"I know," Ric patted Phil on the shoulder before raising a questioning eye. "Where do you think she'd go?"

Phil smiled, "There is only one place she would go."

* * *

Keely sat on the curb, her knees pulled close against her chest as she sobbed into the night air. Behind her was the darkened, empty Port Charles Mall. It was rather fitting, she figured, that she ran to a place that represented safety and normalcy in her life, only to have it closed and uninviting. 

That's how her entire world felt. And it was all her own fault.

She really had no idea why she snapped. Why she lashed out at Alex for something that couldn't be changed, was beyond her reasoning. Alex seemed nice, she was beautiful and accomplished, someone Keely, under normal circumstances, would truly admire.

But, looking at Alex all Keely could see was a woman who ostensibly chose ambition over her own daughter. Giving her up at seventeen was understandable, not looking for her when she had the means and opportunity was heartbreaking. Keely didn't understand it.

Growing up, her mother, Mandy, was a strong, solid influence. She loved Keely unconditionally and gave her daughter everything she needed to have a happy, healthy childhood. But there was always a gap, there was always a disconnect that Keely couldn't bridge. She had convinced herself it was because her father, her mother's husband, died when Keely was very little and her mother had to work twice as hard to give them a good life. But looking back, Keely knew it was simply because they weren't alike in any way.

She loved her mom, the woman who raised her, but they never had a close bond. Nothing like what Keely felt the second she saw Alex.

Her chest tightened and she knew. That was her mother. The woman who carried her for nine months and gave her life. One half of her DNA belonged to the beautiful ADA from New York. And instead of staying, talking, and getting to know her, Keely lashed out. Blamed and ridiculed, treated Alex as though she never wanted her.

Keely shook her head, she didn't know if that was the truth. She didn't really know the truth at all. She was judging the book by a very sketchy cover. There were details missing, there were factors she wasn't privy to. Keely had no way of knowing how to judge her mother, or her father for that matter, because she didn't even remotely know the truth.

"That boy knows you inside and out," Ric announced as he walked across the empty parking lot before sitting down on the curb next to Keely.

"I like malls, I know what I'm getting when I go into one. Not what I'm going to buy, what to expect," Keely muttered. "Like listening to my favorite song, or watching my favorite movie, or holding Phil's hand--I know what to expect, I know I'll be safe, nothing will let me down."

"Were you let down a lot?"

"No," Keely shrugged. "I guess I'm just feeling melodramatic. The truth is ... my life was great. I had everything a girl could want--and that was before I met Phil."

"Your relationship with your parents?"

"It was fine, my dad, he died when I was little. Mom worked a lot and she had a completely different...view about life than I do. She loved cheerleading, I hated it. She loves Barry Manilow, I'm into U2. A good career to her is real estate, all I want to be is a journalist. We didn't fight, we just didn't get along."

Ric nodded, "I owe Mandy Teslow a debt of gratitude, though. She did an amazing job with you, Keely, better than Alex and I could have possibly done."

"You don't know that."

"I do," Ric grinned. "When you came into the world, Alex and I were still figuring out who the hell we were going to become. Truth be told, I'm still figuring that one out. You needed someone who would love you unselfishly, unconditionally. Alex and I weren't equipped to give that to you seventeen years ago. Now, if you give us a shot, we might be able to give you what you deserve." Ric paused and placed an arm around Keely's shoulder. "Give Cabot the benefit of the doubt. She was a scared young girl when you were born, and she's had her share of hell since. But she's here now, and she doesn't have to be. Give her that chance."

"I feel like she didn't want me, Ric, she let me go without . . . she gave me away to someone she didn't know and she didn't come for me when she could."

"I know how that feels, Keely. Sweetie, I really do," Ric admitted. "My mother, your grandmother, gave me up when I was born. She couldn't choose between her sons, and my father forced her hand so she gave me to my father thinking that would be the best thing for her. She didn't know my dad would . . ." Ric paused, trying to fight the bile that was building in his throat as he thought about his father and the damage he did to Ric's life. "I spent my entire life thinking that my mother didn't love me, thinking she chose Sonny because she loved him more. And that turned into . . . hate, and revenge, and . . . all I wanted was to take away from Sonny what I felt was robbed from me."

Keely looked up into Ric's eyes, giving him the strength to tell her everything. She didn't look fragile and innocent, she looked strong and understanding, like he could bare his soul and she wouldn't turn him away.

"I came to Port Charles with that vendetta driving me. I did so many . . . I almost let it go, though, when I met Elizabeth. We fell in love, she forgave me for so many of the things I did in the name of revenge, and we got married. We were expecting a baby, I always thought we were having a baby girl . . . the day after we got married there was an accident and Elizabeth lost the baby. I blamed Sonny and lost my mind in the grief and anger." Ric stopped and took a deep breath. This was it. What he had to say would either drive Keely away for good or help her to forgive Alex.

"I kidnapped Sonny's wife, Carly, who was pregnant. I kept her in a panic room in the house I shared with my wife, and planned to steal her child. I was so lost in my hatred for Sonny, in feeling that my family was stolen, that I couldn't see how far I had gone, how horrible I was," Ric looked into the night sky, afraid to look at Keely. He could feel her tense at his side, but she didn't move, she didn't run away screaming. "I um...eventually, I let Carly go, but I lost Elizabeth, I lost everything. One foot in front of the other, I put my life in order again, I managed to get Elizabeth to trust me, and even marry me again. But I still screwed it up, a stupid fight with Sonny shattered my marriage and Elizabeth left town before Cameron was born, before I knew he was mine. Then, of course, I found out that Alexis Davis was the mother of Sonny's daughter and . . . well, that began my third, most ill-fated marriage yet. After all that, I've been blessed with two young children, an amazing friend in Elizabeth, and you.

"The thing is, I almost destroyed my entire life before I had a chance to really live it . . . because I thought my mother didn't love me," Ric shook his head. "All my life, I wondered if I had been given the chance to know my mother if I would have been a little less screwed up. Who knows, right? I can't take back what I did, how I've hurt people I love, all I can do is try to do right in my life now. I have to take the moments and live them fully. The second I stopped living in the past, I started really living."

Ric exhaled, trying to figure out if it was safe to look at his daughter, to figure out how she was going to react to his confession. What happened, he didn't expect.

Keely hugged him. Selflessly, unconditionally.

Ric wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and finally felt the weight of his sins lift off his shoulders into the night air. His life was his again, completely. He had a family, friends, a life.

"I'm sorry," Keely whispered, brushing the tears from her cheeks. "I had no idea . . . what you've been through. Makes my drama seem trivial."

"That's not why I told--."

"I know why you told me," Keely cut him off. "You nearly destroyed everything in your world because you felt like your mother gave you up without a second thought. You don't want the same for me."

"Pretty much."

"And you think I shouldn't dwell on what Alex did seventeen years ago, I should concentrate on what we have the opportunity to have now."

"Exactly."

"Of course, I was a total brat back at Kelly's and now she probably thinks 'damn, thank goodness I didn't have to deal with that for the last seventeen years.'"

"I really doubt that," Ric chuckled as he pushed himself off of the curb. "Your mom is a real brat herself."

"Really?" Keely asked as Ric helped her off of the ground.

"A notorious, legal brat. She even got herself thrown in jail for talking back to a judge, or so I've heard," Ric laughed. "Cabot has a million stories to tell you, a million lessons to impart, you just have to give her the chance. Besides, if you can trust and forgive a lunatic like me, you might as well give a good person like Alex the chance to prove herself."

* * *

"Well, this is fun," Phil quipped as he stood in the diner's kitchen, watching as Elizabeth busied herself by restocking the shelf. "Shouldn't we go out there and, I don't know, talk to her?" 

"Do you want to do that?" Elizabeth chuckled. "Honestly, I don't know her, I don't know anything about her, and I have zero opinion on Alex Cabot one way or the other. But I'm not relishing a conversation under these circumstances."

"I wouldn't know what to say," Phil shrugged. "I hope Keely is ok."

"She is, Ric will make sure of it," Elizabeth smiled. "I actually should get home, see my own baby."

"I'll walk you to your car," Phil offered as they entered the dining room.

"Actually, Ric gave me a ride, looks like I'm hoofing it," she noted while collecting her purse and jacket.

"Can I walk you? I need some air," Phil explained with a playful smile. "Anything to keep me from worrying about Keel."

Elizabeth glanced at Alex, who was still sitting at the same table, studying her Black Berry, and nodded in acceptance.

"I'd be honored," Elizabeth took the boy's arm and walked towards Alex. "Do you need a ride back to the hotel?"

"Actually, I was going to wait here for Ric and Keely, if that isn't a problem," Alex said nervously as she pushed her Black Berry aside. "Are you leaving?"

"I want to kiss my son goodnight," Elizabeth grinned.

"Cameron, right? Ric told me all about him and Molly on the flight up," Alex told Elizabeth with an honest sigh. "He seems happy."

"Ric is trying," Elizabeth nodded. "You can stay as long as you like. I doubt an ADA from New York is looking to rob a little diner."

"Thank you," Alex grinned as she watched Elizabeth and Phil leave the diner. She was about to turn her attention back to the PDA when she heard someone come in from the rear entrance of the diner.

"Is the party over already? At least the place is still..."

"Hello," Alex said seriously, rising as a handsome, swaggering man walked into the diner. He arched an eye towards her, clearly confused.

"Elizabeth told me she needed this place tonight for a private party--are you the private party?"

"Hardly a party, more like an ill fated family reunion," Alex offered.

"The girl, Keely," the man motioned to the stairs. "Wait, I know this . . . Nikolas told me that Alexis was whining about it. You're the mother of Ric's seventeen year old daughter? You're the mother of a teenager?"

"Undoubtedly," Alex smiled and extended a hand. "Alex Cabot."

"Lucky Spencer," he said while shaking her hand gently. He studied for a moment for flashing a knowing grin. "Wait, I've heard about you."

"That I'm Keely's mother, I know."

"No, no, before that," Lucky waved as he sat down at Alex's table. "You're that ADA who was sent into Witness Protection, helped to send away the guy who shot you, and now you're back for good as the Manhattan Trial Bureau's chief. Pretty cool story."

Alex looked up at Lucky, shocked that anyone outside the New York law enforcement circle even knew her name.

"That's a rather peculiar story to gossip about," Alex pointed out.

"Well," Lucky cocked his head to the side and smirked. "Not if your a cop."

"And you are?"

"One of the few law abiding and law respecting citizens in Port Charles," Lucky explained. He added with a proud grin, "I'm actually a detective."

"Really? I've always had a rather...mutually beneficial relationship with detectives," Alex quipped.

"You a damn good ADA, you made great waves when you were with the Special Victims Unit, and now . . . please tell me you're not in Port Charles permanently," Lucky said, his tone turning serious. "It wouldn't be a smart career move."

"Hardly, but . . . why would it be detrimental to my career?"

Lucky leaned back in his chair, a wear look washing over his young face.

"This town is run by the crooks, and the murders, the numbers runners, and the deviants," Lucky frowned. "Mobsters are gods, and psychopaths get away with anything and live another day. New York may be tough, but Port Charles is lacking in any sort of moral center. You'd simply be sucked into the vacuum that turns every good person bad."

"Have you been turned bad, Detective Spencer?" Alex questioned.

"I'm not the idealistic, hopeful kid I was when I was Keely's age," Lucky said sadly as he stood up. "You two should get the hell out of this town before it destroys everything good about you."

"You sound like you want out," Alex observed as Lucky walked towards the doors.

"That's the dream, I just don't think it is possible anymore," Lucky grinned. "I'm guessing your waiting for someone, for Keely? She's living upstairs. You can hang out here for as long as you like. And if you need anything, I'm not hard to find."

"Good night, Lucky," Alex wave as he walked out into the night.

* * *

Ric and Keel walked into the courtyard, Ric's arm around his daughter's shoulder. He enjoyed the feeling of her head against his shoulder, the sound of her breathing. There was a peace to it he rarely felt. In spite of tearing his soul open to tell his daughter his darkest secrets, Ric didn't feel shaken or tormented. He felt human. 

"Lansing."

Ric stopped walking when Lucky called out his name.

"Spencer, how are you?" Ric asked awkwardly. He didn't really know how to treat or react to Lucky since the Spencers split. He almost wanted to shake his hand and say thank-you. While Ric never wanted Elizabeth to be unhappy, there was a selfish part of him that was delighted that her marriage to Lucky fell apart.

"Ok," Lucky shrugged, smiling briefly at Keely before returning a serious stare in Ric's direction. "I find it incredible that you know Alex Cabot. She's a remarkable woman."

"How do you know her?" Keely asked softly, unsure of Lucky's statement.

"She's somewhat a legend in the law enforcement community. What she's been through, the work she's done . . . like I said, remarkable," Lucky grinned. "I'd be surprised that a woman of her integrity would ever associate with someone like you Ric. Of course, it's no surprise, for some reason strong women always seem to associate with you. Miss Cabot, Alexis, and god knows Elizabeth can't just walk away. What's your secret?"

Ric stepped forward, in front of Keely, his jaw clenched as he moved towards Lucky.

"I see that you're frustrated and angry, Lucky, but this isn't the time. Not in front of my daughter, understood?" Ric asked calmly. "You want to have it out with me, fine, I'm always around. But don't ever try to confront me when I'm with my children."

"You have the world at your feet, Lansing--amazing women, children, money...don't let your Sonny obsession cause you to blow it this time. You won't just be destroying yourself this time," Lucky warned before leaving the courtyard and not looking back.

Ric looked at Keely apologetically. "Sorry, there is a lot of history there."

Keely shrugged, "It's fine. I get it. He still loves Elizabeth, even if their marriage didn't work out. He doesn't want to see her get hurt. It's kind of sweet."

"Sweet?" Ric laughed, "You're a hopeless romantic, aren't you?"

"Better to be a hopeless romantic than a jaded cynic, right?"

"Absolutely," Ric sighed. He looked into the diner, noticing Alex sitting alone at the counter, nursing a cup of coffee. "You ready to go back in there, talk to Alex?"

"Yes," Keely said affirmatively as she looked through the window. "But I want to do it by myself."

"Are you sure?"

"Not really," Keely whispered as she looked into Ric's understanding eyes. "But I'm doing it anyway."


	11. Chapter 11 Crumbling Down

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was in the middle of an extensive remodeling project and I got preoccupied making mvids (to see what I've been up to, check out my youtube page at are quite a few Pheely mvids on there that may interest my readers, as well as One Tree Hill and GH).

Anyhow, here is Chapter 11. I have a definite vision for the story, so I don't intend to abandon it. But I also have a GH fic I want to write, as well as a POTF/Pheely story I can't get out of my head. But, keep an eye out for HS, who knows when I'll get the bug and write a bazillion chapters!

Thanks for reading, and don't forget, feedback is always appreciated (that goes for my youtube vids, too!).

* * *

Historical Significance

Chapter 11: Crumbling Down

"So, you're an ADA," Keely said as she walked into the silent diner. The bell over the door rang as it slid shut behind her. She pulled out the chair and sat down opposite Alex. "Why?"

"Why am I the ADA?" Alex repeated, her eyes locked with Keely's. "You mean, why did I want to work for the district attorney's office?"

"Yes," she stated bluntly.

"It was the first step in a strategically planned life," Alex noted wistfully. Her life hadn't exactly turned out how she planned.

"The first step? What derailed it? I'm guessing not me," Keely added, her defenses still sharply at attention.

"No, not you. In fact, you, the knowledge that you were out there, was the impetus that I needed to determine what I wanted my life to be like. I wanted to do good things, to make the world a better place for my daughter to live in," Alex explained. She smiled softly when she realized how rehearsed that answer sounded.

"So, you wanted to make the world better...what was the master plan?"

"ADA, then DA, mayor, governor, senator . . . maybe President," Alex stated. "I had a privileged upbringing, as did your father. Exclusive boarding schools, summers in the Hamptons, I never wanted for anything. I graduated from Harvard at the top of my class and eased into the DA's office. It was almost too easy, my conviction rates were incredibly high. So my boss assigned me to the special victim's bureau . . . and that's when the train jumped the track. Suddenly, my ambition wasn't important. Punishing criminals was.

"I got to the point where I would do anything to send a rapist or child molester to prison. Anything. I was reprimanded, suspended, and even thrown into jail once on a contempt charge. But I believed in the work I was doing and my goals didn't seem to matter. I had to ask myself if I would really do more good as a Senator than as ADA. The answer was always no." Alex looked down at her hands. They were shaking. They hadn't shaken since she came back to New York.

"How did you die?" Keely asked, once again, bluntly.

Alex looked at her daughter, a young woman who was clearly her own. The physical resemblance was obvious, but Alex could tell, instantly, that it was deeper. Keely had put up a wall, pushed aside the parts of her that would make her vulnerable to being hurt. Alex lived her entire life that way, she could only hope that Keely didn't.

"I pissed off a drug cartel," Alex noted. "We thought it was over. Federal charges were filed, our part of the case was over, but nothing was over. I walked out into the street and was shot down. When I woke up, a federal agent was standing over me, telling me I was dead. And I would remain dead until the threat was removed."

Alex clasped her hands around her coffee cup in attempt to stop the shaking. The flashes of that night, the bullet, the sound of Olivia's voice, the haunted look in Elliot's eyes before she lost consciousness...it was still very real. Three years later and she still couldn't forget the night her life changed. The emptiness that came from one bullet wound only helped to reveal the pain she had kept hidden for so many years.

"Do you know the worst part about entering the program? It wasn't saying good-bye to my friends and my career . . . it was that my mother died thinking I was murdered," Alex's voice cracked. "I didn't get to tell my mother that I loved her, that I was ok. And the day I found out she died, I realized . . . I realized that my great plan was an utter failure. I had lost everything that was important to me. The only boy I ever loved, my job, my mother, and my daughter . . . they were all out of my reach. I had nothing left. I gave up."

"But you didn't. You came back, you're an ADA again, everything is back on track," Keely pointed out. "You were given a second chance."

"Really? I have a job back, not the one I loved. I'm no longer with the SVU. And there is no bringing back my mother," Alex shook her head, wiping away a tear that was fighting to escape.

"But, maybe . . . you have a second chance with Ric--and me," Keely offered, her voice softening for the first time. "I'm a spoiled brat from California, I tend to be judgmental and ignorant. I judged you before I knew you and overreacted. I want to get to know you the way I'm getting to know Ric. I want the three of us to be a family." Keely paused and reached out for Alex's shaking hands. "You're my mom, I want to be part of your life and I want you in mine."

* * *

"Well, here we are," Phil said with a sigh as he and Elizabeth approached her front door. "I hope the rest of your night goes better than the first half."

"What, that? Oh . . . Phil, that was nothing. You should see the drama I've witnessed since moving to Port Charles," Elizabeth informed with a laugh.

"You didn't grow up here?"

"No," she smiled. "I spent the first fifteen years of my life in the very normal Boulder, Colorado. Moving here changed my entire world."

"For the better?"

Elizabeth nodded, "I've had a lot, good and bad, happen to me, but I don't think I'd change any of it. What's life without overcoming the rough parts?"

"But if you can avoid the rough parts, wouldn't you?"

"If it meant I would miss out on the good stuff, never," Elizabeth placed a gentle hand on Phil's shoulder. "Keely is going to be ok. Finding out you're adopted and meeting your birth parents in the span of a couple of weeks is intense. And with a boyfriend like you, she is already halfway there."

"I just want her to smile like she did before this all started," Phil admitted. "Things were so good, we had our entire summer planned . . ."

"What did you have planned?"

"Nothing," Phil said with a smile. "It was just going to be us, hanging out, road trips to the beach, amusement parks . . . our last chance to be young before senior year and then college. And now . . . that seems so impossible."

"It's not impossible," Elizabeth insisted. "Nothing is completely out of reach, Phil, you have to believe in that. Eventually she'll come back to you, and the life you've both planned will commence."

"Like you and Ric?" Phil challenged.

"Oh, wow," Elizabeth gasped in surprise. "I-I, I'm not ... why would you say that?"

"I don't know the whole story, but there is history with you two and it just seems . . . the story is less past tense and more present tense. You're doing a lot for a guy who is just your ex-husband," Phil pointed out.

"Ric and I are . . ."

"Complicated?" Phil finished. "Yeah, I know the schtick. That's what Keely and I said to anyone who would question why we were just friends. 'It's complicated.' But it wasn't. I'm in love with her, she's in love with me. Once we realized that we wouldn't lose anything, but rather gain everything, nothing was complicated. At least, nothing between us."

"I wish it was that simple, but Ric and I have been through a lot. Our relationship is finally in a healthy place, a strong place. Whether we stay friends or go back to being more . . . it'll happen because it is meant to happen."

"If you insist," Phil smiled. "It was nice talking to you, Liz."

"You too," Elizabeth watched as Phil began to walk towards the street. "Phil, tell Keely if she needs to talk, she can call me. I might be the objective ear she needs."

Elizabeth knew she should go inside, but wanted a moment to enjoy the warm summer evening. And maybe chase away Phil's words about the nature of her relationship with Ric.

If a seventeen year old boy she barely knew could see how evident her feelings for Ric were she was doomed.

* * *

"Listen, lady, I don't care how hot you think you are, but I don't buy it," Jason Morgan huffed as he downed a mouthful of beer. "There is no way you can double anything without the authorities catching on. Not possible."

"I can guarantee it," Pim grinned as she reached a hand across the table to touch Morgan's arm. "You just have to have a little faith."

"I'm engaged," Jason protested as he pulled his arm away from Pim.

Confusion. It wasn't an emotion Jason felt often. He never allowed himself to be put in a place where confusion could take over his life. However, somehow, maybe it was a lack of sleep or a dire need for some variety in his life, but he allowed himself to be talked into a business meeting with someone of rather dubious qualifications.

But Sonny thought she was legit, so Jason took the bait.

On his terms, though, on his turf.

So he nursed a bottle of beer while a woman, who looked more like a super model than a the tough as nails businesswoman she presented herself, proposed a ludicrous plan to double the Organizations profits. Jason was skeptical. But interested.

And confused.

"I'm not trying to hit on you, peaches," Pim smirked, clearly enjoying the affect she had on men. Sonny practically drooled and his cool as ice enforcer seemed downright shaken. Why she hadn't thought of using the new ager sooner was a mystery she didn't intend to dwell on. She was simply going to reap the benefits of her plan. One of those benefits was watching powerful men squirm.

"Then what do you get from this?"

"A small piece of the pie...a tiny bit of power," Pim grinned.

"You want to take over?"

"Did I say that?"

"Not exactly."

"Then don't assume, Jas-bot," Pim quipped. "Listen, I just want the satisfaction in knowing that I was right. Take my advice, double your earnings, and I'll be out of your life ... after a monetary reward, of course."

"Money? That's all?"

"For now," Pim grinned. "But my ultimate plan is bigger than this 'burg. I just need start up funding before I can move forward."

Jason looked at Pim closely, unsure what to make of her. She seemed overly confident, but completely calm. She was either lying about something or just really strange.

Jason decided she was just strange.

"So, what's this plan?"

* * *

Phil sat in bed, flipping through the channels on the television in an attempt to distract himself. Downstairs, Keely was in the middle of an intense conversation with her mother. They were making headway, the anger was receding--they were becoming family.

Keely was getting everything she ever wanted, everything she never knew she needed. Phil wanted to be happy for her, over the moon, gob-smacked happy for her. But part of him felt that the closer she got to Ric and Alex, the further away from him and their life she would be pulled.

Pickford and Port Charles were in two different worlds. Pickford was Everytown, USA. Sunny, comfortable, white picket fences, innocence never lost. Port Charles was dark and ominous. Mobsters, heartbreak, lies and deceit that robbed even the purest soul of some brightness. Phil didn't fit in Port Charles, neither did Keely. This wasn't their world. They were visiting, and it was fun, but eventually the stress of a town like Port Charles would chip away and tear them apart.

How could it not? All Phil had to do was look at Elizabeth and Ric. Clearly in love, married twice, they even had a son together, yet they weren't together. Life was too hard, hearts were broken too easily, and now they struggled to keep up the pretense of friendship because the prospect of falling in love again was too terrifying.

For Phil, the prospect of losing Keely was the most the terrifying to him. She was his soulmate, his bestfriend, his everything. They couldn't end up like Elizabeth and Ric. Together, apart, always yearning, but never getting what they wanted, what was utterly essential to exist.

So, instead of being happy for the girl he loved, Phil was miserable. He felt like he was on the verge of losing the only person that mattered and there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

"Hey, it's late," Elizabeth whispered as she pulled the front door open to find Ric leaning against the frame looking exhausted. "But, you own the house...so, come in."

"You own it, I just paid for it--it's under your name," Ric corrected as he walked into the bare bones living room. "It really is coming around."

"Getting there," Elizabeth sighed. "I'm having a hell of a time coming up with a paint scheme for my bedroom, though. I'm just not...inspired."

"You'll find it," Ric said confidently before collapsing on the sofa.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"When did I meet my daughter?" Ric asked with a weak smile. "I almost don't want to go to sleep . . . what if I do, and when I wake up this was all a dream? None of this happened? No Keely, no us, none of it...I'd rather be tired than wake up from this dream."

Elizabeth looked at Ric, unsure what to make of his "us" reference. He was far too tired to really have one of those conversations, though, so she merely brushed the hair off his forehead and smiled.

"You can sleep, Ric, nobody is going anywhere," Elizabeth promised. "Life is only going to keep getting better. The reward for all of your real hard work."

"When you say it, I almost believe it," Ric confessed. He rubbed his hands through his hair in frustration. "I tend to believe I'm at the beginning of the descent."

"Why?"

Ric looked into Elizabeth's blue eyes and felt a moment of peace. He needed that. Once he let the words out of his mouth, the thoughts out of his heart, there was no taking it back.

"My father destroyed my life. He took Alex and Keely from me, he set me on a path of vengeance for my brother that almost destroyed me, he made me lose everybody I ever loved," Ric paused as he gathered his thoughts. "I have to confront him, I have to let him know that I know everything."

Elizabeth sighed and took Ric's hand into hers. "That won't be easy. When was the last time you spoke to your dad?"

Ric shook his head, "Before I went to South America to work for Luis Alcazar. Dad didn't think that was the best way to go after Sonny. So he showed his disapproval by cutting off contact with me. And I never felt the need to reopen those channels. Until now."

"What's going to happen when you talk to him?" Elizabeth had never met her former father-in-law, but she had some pretty clear opinions of him. She hated the man, knowing instinctively that he was the reason for every one of Ric's demons. Trevor Lansing had poisoned his son's heart and mind so much that Elizabeth often wondered if she could ever truly save Ric. Knowing the man Ric had fought to become allowed Elizabeth to take solace, but she still hated Trevor. She hated that he was still a factor in Ric's life. She hated that he was Cameron's grandfather. She hated that he was once again hurting Ric, hurting her family.

"I don't know," Ric noted. "But you have to promise me that you'll help me keep him away from my children. I don't want my father anywhere near Cameron or Molly or Keely. He ruined my life, I cannot let him into theirs."

Elizabeth squeezed Ric's hand, "I promise you, I'll protect our son and your daughters from him at any cost. And I'll protect you, too."

* * *

Alexis Davis walked into the bar, squinting into the darkness until she spotted him. She smiled satisfactorily before joining him at the corner table. He was handsome and dignified, his gray hair combed neatly and his suit tailored to perfection. She greeted him with a polite kiss on the cheek and quickly ordered a gin martini.

"Gin?" he quipped. "I thought you were Russian? Shouldn't you drink vodka?"

"I like defying convention," Alexis said with a laugh. "So, tell me, why did I have to fly to New York so urgently? I thought you were leaving things up to me?"

"After the mess you made? Natasha, do you really think I could allow you to have control?"

"Everything is under control, Ric will come back...I have a plan," Alexis asserted.

"I am no longer interested in saving your marriage," he informed sternly. "I want to keep Richard away from Miss Cabot, her daughter, and that nurse. Whether you stay married to him is now irrelevant. I'm honestly questioning choosing you in the first place."

"Ric did love me, it worked perfectly."

"Richard clearly settled for you, if love grew from that, so be it. But whatever love grew apparently has died."

"What's your plan?" Alexis asked bitterly, not eager to admit defeat. "Whatever it is, though, my daughters mustn't be involved."

"What do you take me for, Natasha, a monster?"

"Don't call me that," Alexis snapped.

"Touchy, touchy," he chuckled. "Fine, Alexis, I'm not a monster. I would not use your child to achieve my goal."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"Use Alex Cabot's daughter," he grinned. "What else?"


End file.
